China and Japan have failed to reach an agreement on compensation for Japanese property damaged during three weekends of riots in China, officials and media said Sunday. The Japanese delegation, headed by Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi, met with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing on the final of two days of "strategic dialogue" Saturday, China's foreign ministry said in a statement. "I cannot comment about the contents of the meeting, but the issue (of compensation) has yet to be solved," Yachi said after the talks, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.
Earlier reports suggested the talks would likely deal with a Chinese offer to pay "consolation money" for damage caused by anti-Japanese protests last month.
The anti-Japan demonstrations came after the Japanese education ministry approved a history textbook written by avowed nationalists who believe Tokyo is too apologetic for its past.
Yachi was quoted in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun as saying China had discussed the history issue "in detail."
While the foreign ministry in Beijing provided no details on what the delegates had talked about, it did say they would meet again.
"The two sides believed that the dialogue was positive and helpful and agreed that the dialogue process should be carried on," the ministry statement said.
Bilateral relations have been strained over Japan's ambition to get a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Japan argues that it deserves a seat as it is the world's second largest economy and a major donor to the UN.
China is also furious at Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's insistence at visiting the Yasukuni shrine, which honours Japanese war dead including convicted war criminals.
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