Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Saturday reiterated China's claim over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to stop his repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine.
Wen made the remarks during talks with Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, who arrived in Beijing earlier in the day for a weekend mission to mend fences with Chinese leaders.
For her part, Kawaguchi protested the recent landing on one of the Senkaku Islands by seven Chinese activists as "extremely regrettable," urging Beijing to prevent "unlawful entry" by its nationals on the islands, according to a Japanese official who briefed reporters.
But Wen countered by repeating Beijing's position that the islands are Chinese territory, the official said.