Japanese and Chinese bodies responsible for assessing the qualifications of information technology engineers signed a memorandum of understanding for mutual recognition Thursday in Beijing.
Under the accord, China's qualified IT engineers will have to jump through fewer hoops to obtain Japanese business visas. It will also become easier for Japanese companies to identify workers with relevant skills when hiring Chinese engineers or tying up with Chinese businesses, according to officials of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Takao Tominaga, president of METI-affiliated Japan Information Technology Engineers Examination Center, joined his counterpart from an entity under China's Information Industry Ministry for the signing ceremony in China, they said.
It is the fourth mutual recognition accord of IT engineers that Japan has signed with other countries. It signed a similar agreement with India in February, one with Singapore in August and another with South Korea in December.
The center plans to conclude similar accords with other Asian countries, including Thailand and Taiwan, a center official said.
IT engineers looking for work in Japan must have completed university engineering or science courses and have 10 or more years of work experience in the area. However, those with mutually recognized qualifications will be exempt from such requirements, the METI officials said.