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GV Great Hall of the People, Peking
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GV Japanese Prime Minister Ohira arrives in car, and enters Great Hall
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GV ZOOM TO SV Chairman Hua Guofeng greets Japanese Prime Minister Ohira and his party
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GV Delegations seated, Chinese on left, Japanese on right, ZOOM TO CU Prime Minister Ohira
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CU Chairman Hua ZOOM OUT TO GV Conference table with delegations seated
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SV Prime Minister Ohira talking across table to Chairman Hua, and CU Hua listening (2 shots)
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CU ZOOM TO SV Picture of Huan-Huan, a panda being presented by Chairman Hua to Prime Minister Ohira (2 shots)
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Initials BB


TELERECORDING original on 10769/79 200ft

Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Japan's Prime Minster, Masayoshi Ohira -- on an official visit to China -- said the two countries wanted to consolidate their relationship during the coming decade. But, he stressed, other countries had nothing to fear from this. In a joint communique issued on Friday (7 December), Mr. Ohira welcomed the smooth development of relations between China and Japan since diplomatic ties were established in 1972.

SYNOPSIS: Mr. Ohira arrived at the Great Hall of the People in Peking soon after the start of his visit on Wednesday (5 December). It was Mr. Ohira's third visit to China. He came here previously in 1972 and 1974 when he was Japan's Foreign Minister. On this visit, Mr. Ohira was accompanied by his wife, his Minister of Finance and his Foreign Minister.

In the initial two-hour round of talks with Chairman Hua Guofeng, the two men reviewed the international situation. In later discussions, Mr. Ohira pledged his support for China's plans to modernise the country -- plans which, he said, had won international blessing.

Mr. Ohira later announced that Japan was prepared to offer China an aid and loan package worth up to 675 million pounds (nearly 1,500 million U.S. dollars) over a period of five years. China is expected to trade oil and other raw materials in exchange for Japanese technology and help with industrial development. Mr. Ohira stressed the need for international co-operation, saying that only through mutual assistance between nations could world peace and progress be assured. This was the first visit to China by a Japanese Prime Minister since the two countries signed a treaty of peace and friendship last year.