China dismissed Japan's proposal to hold talks over Disputed Islands

Li Baodong, the Deputy Foreign Minister of China on 26 August 2013 dismissed Japan’s proposal to hold talks on the ownership of the group of disputed Islands in the East China Sea. China claimed that it had no reason to hold talks over the ownership of the islands.

Earlier, Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan in July 2013 called on for high-level talks with China. The relations between the two nations got strained over a dispute on uninhabited East China Sea islands namely, Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

Comment
The decision from the Chinese side came about a week ahead of the G20 Leaders' Summit, to be held in St. Petersburg on 5 and 6 September 2013, this will be the main G20 event of 2013. During the sidelines of the summit, it was expected that the China and Japan would held talks to improve the strained relations.