China and Japan agreed on Thursday to expand mutual access to their aviation markets, allowing a 20-percent increase in passenger flights and a doubling of cargo flights volume.

China's General Administration of Civil Aviation announced the news after its director, Yang Yuanyuan, signed a negotiation summary with Japan's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kitagawa Kazuo.

The increase means China and Japan will be able to expand the two-way air traffic by an equivalent of 92 B767-300 passenger flights and 76 B767F cargo flights every week.

In addition, the summary allows both countries to add two locations for departure and two for arrival.

In a meeting after the signing ceremony, China's State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan told Kitagawa Kazuo that he hoped the two sides will continue to work together to develop the aviation market, expand personnel exchanges and improve mutual understanding for reciprocal cooperation.

Kitagawa Kazuo said despite political obstacles between Japan and China, the two countries' aviation authorities had overcome difficulties to reach the agreement, which will help bolster their aviation industries and exchanges and cooperation in other fields.

China and Japan signed an agreement on civil aviation in 1974, under which nine Chinese and Japanese airlines now operate routine flights among 19 Chinese and 17 Japanese cities.

Statistics from China's General Administration of Civil Aviation showed that China has become Japan's second largest international market for air traffic and Japan is China's largest international air traffic market.

Sources with the Chinese administration said the summary was an "important" agreement reached between China and Japan after many rounds of negotiations.

It was a comprehensive review and update of the air traffic arrangements between the two countries over the past 30 years, the sources said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 14, 2006)