Recent Sino-Japanese memo on the subject seeks to reduce misunderstandings about food import quality standards

China and Japan recently agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation on food safety after the dumplings poisoning incident that strained Sino-Japanese ties during the early days of 2008 buttressed the case for an accord to handle disputes related to food safety between the Asian neighbors.

The agreement was reached under the umbrella of tripartite cooperation among China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, the three key economies in Northeast Asia.