Japan envoy meets China FM

Japan's top career diplomat met China's foreign minister on Tuesday in the latest bid to ease strains between Asia's two biggest economies over a bitter territorial row, while a Chinese official newspaper said Beijing had ruled out a leaders' summit.

Hawkish Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who cemented his grip on power in an upper house election last week, has been signaling a desire for dialogue with China since the victory, although he has also rejected any conditions set by Beijing.

Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki's visit was the latest effort by Tokyo to improve ties soured by the row over tiny, uninhabited islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries.

The Chinese foreign ministry said in an online statement that during Saiki's China visit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a short meeting with the Japanese vice foreign minister and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin exchanged views with his Japanese counterpart.

The two sides exchanged views candidly and the Chinese side clarified its position on problems facing bilateral relations, the statement said.

China and Japan will maintain communication at all levels and through multiple channels, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

Saiki told reporters before leaving Beijing that the exchange of views had been "serious and direct" but declined to comment on a possible summit, saying he had to report to Abe first.

Earlier in the day, the English-language China Daily said Beijing had ruled out a summit and quoted an unidentified Chinese official as urging Japan to take concrete steps to improve strained ties rather than "empty slogans."

The Chinese official was also quoted as saying in the newspaper that weekend statements by Abe's adviser, Isao Iijima, that a leaders' summit could happen in the "not-too-distant future" were "fabricated."

In Tokyo, a Japanese foreign ministry source said he had not seen the China Daily report and could not comment on it directly, but a summit could still be held at the right time.

"It is true no concrete date is set for a leaders' summit or foreign ministers' summit," the Japanese source said. "But this does not mean there will never be one in the future."

Separately, an article on the website of Japan's Kyodo News said that the US Senate has unanimously adopted a resolution on Monday condemning "the use of coercion, threats, or force" in the South and East China Sea "to assert disputed maritime or territorial claims or alter the status quo," a move the article said may be aimed to keep China in check.

The Sino-Japanese ties have been greatly strained since September, when the territorial row over the Diaoyu Islands flared after Abe's predecessor "nationalized" the isles.

Concern that Abe, who came to power in December, wants to recast Japan's wartime history with a less apologetic tone has added to the tension.

Agencies - Global Times