TOKYO, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday agreed to expand bilateral trade and investment.
Japan and U.S. agreed to expand further bilateral trade and investment beneficial to both countries, Abe said in a joint press conference after their meeting.
Mike Pence underscored Washington's push to address what it believes is an "unfair" trade relationship with Japan and called for a bilateral pact on trade in goods and services.
"The United States has had a trade imbalance with Japan for too long and American products and services too often face barriers to compete fairly in Japan," Pence said.
"The best opportunity for free, fair and reciprocal trade will come in a bilateral trade agreement," he added.
According to an agreement made between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump, negotiations for a bilateral deal are scheduled in mid-January next year.
