Japan has announced that it has decided to lift its freeze on aid loans to China.A foreign aid strategy panel including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Foreign Minister Taro Aso and other Cabinet ministers will confirm the decision this week.
asahi.com reports that the 2005 loans were held back amid worsening public sentiment over China's natural gas drilling project in the East China Sea.
The decision to resume payment results from what Foreign Ministry officials call the "forward-looking mood" set in last month's Qatar meeting between Aso and his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing.
