Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi asked Japan and South Korea on Wednesday to seek a solution to their differences "through dialogue," amid concern that worsening relations between Tokyo and Seoul may threaten regional economic stability.
Foreign Minister Taro Kono also called on Beijing and Seoul to bolster trilateral cooperation even when respective bilateral ties sour, but his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung-wha, lambasted Tokyo's moves to tighten export controls against her country.
"While maintaining a constructive attitude, it is important (for Japan and South Korea) to find an appropriate solution through dialogue," Wang said at the outset of a foreign ministerial gathering of the three nations in Beijing.