Japan will no longer be as generous with its official development assistance to China because of its austere budget, according to a draft policy paper revealed to The Japan Times on Thursday.

However, the draft five-year aid program for China stops short of declaring explicitly that Japan will reduce the amount of ODA, which totals about 200 billion yen annually.

The draft program also states that the development of China's poorer inland areas and environmental preservation will be given precedence over infrastructure projects in the richer coastal areas.