Japan will help China curb greenhouse gas and Beijing will agree to resume importing Japanese rice when Japan's prime minister pays a landmark visit here this week, Japanese reports said Sunday. But there have been no indications the two nations can strike a deal on a protracted dispute over gas fields in the East China Sea.

A joint statement during his summit with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will feature about 10 items including Japan's agreement to transfer energy-saving technology to China, the Nikkei business daily said, without citing sources. The Kyoto Protocol requires cuts in greenhouse gas emissions but makes no demands of emerging economies, leading the United States and Australia to shun the pact.

But Japan will transfer the technology assuming that China will participate in global efforts to fight global warming in a post-Kyoto framework