Chinese and Japanese officials held a rare one-on-one meeting in Beijing on Monday, but their discussions highlighted the rift between the two Asian powers.
Masaharu Kono, a deputy vice-minister in Japan's Foreign Ministry met Qiao Zonghuai, a Chinese deputy foreign minister, to discuss Japan's proposals to overhaul the United Nations and give Japan a seat on the UN Security Council, China's Foreign Ministry Web site reported on Monday.
China's leaders and foreign minister have refused to hold one-on-one meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Japanese foreign ministers, citing Tokyo's attitudes towards Japan's wartime past and Koizumi's repeated visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which holds the remains of 14 "Class A" war criminals from World War Two.
The meeting between Kono and Qiao was a step towards expanded dialogue between the two countries. But Qiao made it clear that China is reluctant to take up UN reform and give a wealthy neighbour like Japan a seat on the Security Council.
"The priority in reforming the Security Council is increasing the number of developing countries, especially representation of Africa," Qiao told Kono, according to Xinhua.
China will only consider reform if there is unanimous support for it, Qiao said.
"China opposes forcing a vote on any reform plan that still engenders major disputes," he said.
China says Japan's leaders must stop visiting the Yusukuni Shrine and show more contrition for Japan's wartime attrocities before bilateral relations can be healthy.
Last week, China also criticised the Japanese foreign minister for saying China's military may threaten Japan's security.
"One can only question the Japanese foreign minister's real motive for fomenting groundless discussion about a China threat at this time," said Qin Gang, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman.
On Monday, Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po, which is controlled by Beijing, said anti-Chinese feeling is spreading in Japan.
"The Japanese right wing and government are shifting domestic public discontent away from long-term economic decline by inciting nationalist sentiment and spreading the doctrine of a China threat," the paper said in the commentary that was also issued on mainland news Web sites.
Earlier this year, several Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, saw sometimes violent anti-Japanese protests that were partly driven by opposition to Japanese entry into the UN Security Council.