BEIJING, June 24 Kyodo (EDS: UPDA...

BEIJING, June 24 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH consequence OF MEETING)

China resisted Monday that Japan's calls for it to restrain Japanese products from temporary ''safeguard'' restrictions that Beijing imposed forward certain steel imports, but agreed to consider making any exceptions, a Japanese trade official said.

The Chinese side agreed at a daylong bilateral meeting in Beijing to consider excluding at least near Japanese products from the 180-day restrictions imposed last month the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry official said.

He said the sum of two units countries' trade officials agreed to work together in any World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute-settlement proces to oppugn Washington's three-year imposition of up to 30% tariffs in succession a range of steel imports in March.

The Chinese side said it was forced to implement the safeguard restrictions because of the U move

Japan has specifically asked China not to apply the restrictions in succession Japanese steel products used by the agency of China-based Japanese corporations, forward high quality steel products that China is unable to manufacture itself, and forward any demand for steel returnss in China that cannot be met at domestic production.

China slapped 7% to 26% tariffs upon nine types of steel outcomes on May 24 in an effort to 1 imports. The restrictions are the first it has imposed since joining the WTO last December.

Beijing's domestic armor industry has been struggling in the wake of an import wave particularly since it removed import quotas and intersect tariffs to meet WTO membership obligations.

Economy, Trade and Industry Vice Minister Katsusada Hirose told a pres discourse earlier Monday in Tokyo that Japan will not ask the WTO to place up a dispute-settlement panel to sway on the legitimacy of temporary sword import curbs imposed by China ''given that the measures are provisional.''

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