Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue told reporters today that Japan was turning the contested islands into a "hot topic" on the sidelines of an Asian regional summit.
Foreign ministers from Japan and China met earlier today in an attempt to mend fences over the dispute, which plunged diplomatic relations between the two nations to their lowest point in five years.
China again asserted its sovereignty over the islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diayu in China.