The Japanese government plans to send the Foreign Ministry's top bureaucrat to Beijing from next Monday for talks with his Chinese counterpart, in an effort to improve bilateral ties despite China's rising assertiveness at sea, sources said Tuesday.

During the stay through Wednesday, Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama is set to meet Executive Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui and other senior officials of the Chinese government, the sources said.

Sugiyama hopes to lay the groundwork for a resumption of dialogue between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping, possibly on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit to be held in Hangzhou, China, in September, they said.

It will be Sugiyama's first visit to China since assuming his post in June. As vice foreign minister, Sugiyama's predecessor, Akitaka Saiki, last visited the country in July 2013.

Sugiyama and Zhang are expected to discuss the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on Tuesday that said China has no historic rights to resources in the South China Sea based on its "nine-dash line" claim. The ruling sided with the Philippines, which brought the case.

Japan said the ruling is "legally binding" and that all parties should comply with the decision, while China immediately rejected the verdict.

Sugiyama's visit will come as Tokyo has expressed concern about intensifying Chinese military activity, including naval operations, in areas near the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The isles are also claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu.