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Tokyo makes overtures to China
Tokyo: Japan is making amicable moves towards China. The country's new trade minister, Toshihiro Nikai, says he is prepared to be more flexible over energy and territorial disputes.

Nikai says he wants to promote amicable discussions over disputed gas reserves in the East China sea, discord over which has soured already bad relations between the Asian giants.
The dispute is that both the countries are fighting over the ownership of the fields.

Nikai is considered to have the best contacts in China of any member of the ruling Liberal Democratic party. His appointment has been welcomed by business leaders who are worried that hawks, such as Shinzo Abe, appointed chief cabinet secretary this week, and Taro Aso, the new foreign minister, could worsen already bad relations with Japan's biggest trading partner.
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Bush, Portman under pressure over China
US President George W. Bush and his top trade aide, Rob Portman are being urged to take a harder line against China.
Bush and Portman assuaged similar anger earlier this year with promises to push China to change its currency and trade policies, but are now facing renewed criticism.

Portman took his first steps last week toward addressing what the U.S. calls China's unfair practices.

He demanded that China provide details of how many people it has prosecuted for pirating U.S. software and movies. His office also asked the World Trade Organization to admonish China for what it called its unfair use of anti-dumping laws to restrict U.S. exports.

U.S. trade negotiators reached a tentative agreement with the Chinese on a deal to limit most Chinese clothing exports to the U.S. over the next three years, according to textile industry executives representing both importers and producers.

` Portman is planning to visit Beijing later this month -- just days before Bush arrives in the Chinese capital -- in an effort to convince the Chinese leadership to reduce export barriers.

Portman said that the Beijing trip is unlikely to result in a reduction in the trade deficit with China, which was $162 billion last year and is currently on pace to surpass $200 billion this year, according to U.S. government figures.

Lawmakers are saying they are prepared to move forward on restrictive legislation.

China surpassed Mexico in July to become US' second-largest trading partner, fueled by a surge of exports that has prompted lawmakers to introduce legislation aimed at blocking Chinese goods from entry into the U.S. and formally reprimanding the nation for its currency policies.
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Iran gets EU snub over request for fresh nuclear talks
Teheran: Iran was swiftly rebuffed by the EU after it requested fresh talks on its controversial nuclear programme with the EU saying the talks won't be possible till Iran puts a freeze on fuel cycle work.

Talks between Iran and the so-called EU-3 broke off in August when Iran resumed uranium conversion activities in defiance of international calls to maintain a suspension.

Officials said Iran would be converting a fresh batch of uranium ore -- the precursor step to enrichment -- in a flagrant rejection of EU calls for a renewed freeze on such activities that prompted a EU diplomat to reject the Iranian request out-of-hand.

Iranian media said the government had given the go-ahead last Wednesday for the country's atomic energy agency to look for foreign and domestic investors for uranium enrichment, even though such work remains suspended.

Officials said Iran would also be converting new consignments of uranium ore at its plant outside the central city of Isfahan, after resuming this crucial part of the fuel cycle in August following a suspension.
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Victory expected for ruling party in Azerbaijan poll
Baku: he parliamentary election in Azerbaijan is expected to hand the ruling party a big majority and Western governments, hungry for the country's oil, are hoping that voter fraud and violence does not wreck the ballot.

Opposition parties promised rallies for next week to protest what they predicted would be widespread election fraud, though analysts say there was unlikely to be a repeat of the popular revolts that followed disputed polls in fellow ex-Soviet states Ukraine and Georgia.

But the threat of violence hung over the election, with the powerful interior minister saying the opposition might try to provoke the police and warning any illegal protests would be stamped out.

Azerbaijan is located in the South Caucasus region and is rife with separatist conflicts. Western governments are anxious for stability, especially with an oil pipeline expected to begin delivering crude to world markets from next year.
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