FMs of China, Japan at loggerheads in talks

Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, on a one-day visit to Beijing amid the two nations' worst relations in decades, renewed demands that China apologise for the successive waves of protests.

"We extremely deplore the destructive activities against the embassy and other facilities as well as violent action against Japanese nationals for the third week in a row," Machimura told his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing, according to footage shown on Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

"We take it as a deeply deplorable situation. We wish the Chinese government would act sincerely and promptly in keeping with international rules," he said.

But Li said only that he wanted a "thorough exchange of views" on the demonstrations.

"The Chinese government has not once done anything that requires an apology to the Japanese government. We will take any action on the basis of the law," Li said, as quoted by Japan's Jiji Press.

"The important issue at present is that the Japanese government is hurting the feelings of the Chinese people on the Taiwan issue, the human rights issue, and particularly the history issue," Li said in NHK footage.

Chinese demonstrators have taken to the streets for three straight weekends, accusing Japan of whitewashing its atrocities committed during its 1931-1945 occupation of China.

The protests come shortly after Japan and the United States for the first time said they shared common concern about Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.