China confirms Japan summit, downplays shrine row

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Friday officially announced a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso next week, brushing aside rancor over his offering to a controversial shrine for the war dead to focus on the financial crisis instead.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website (www.fmprc.gov.cn) that Aso would visit for two days from Wednesday, confirming long-reported plans.

The announcement came a day after the ministry criticized Aso for sending a potted tree to the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, which critics say is a symbol of Japan's World War Two militarism.

Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai said Aso's talks in Beijing would focus on surmounting the financial crisis, and he downplayed the diplomatic damage from the row over the shrine, a mainland-run Hong Kong newspaper, Ta Kung Pao, reported on Friday.

Cui told a gathering in Hong Kong on Thursday that Aso's talks with Chinese leaders would focus on "how to keep developing China-Japan relations and how to fight the global financial tsunami."

Japan and China are the world's second and third biggest economies respectively, accounting for two-thirds of Asia's economy. They are also key players dealing with North Korea, which has raised tensions by firing a long-range rocket and saying it will abandon nuclear talks with regional powers.

But controversies over Japan's handling of wartime memories continue to dog relations.

The Yasukuni shrine to millions of war dead, including some convicted as criminals by a post-World War Two tribunal, is seen by China and other Asian countries as a symbol of Japan's lack of contrition for bloodshed and atrocities in the 1930s and 1940s.

Japan's relations with China chilled during former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's 2001-2006 time in office, in part because of his repeated visits to the shrine.

Ties warmed after Koizumi left office, with the two subsequent prime ministers staying away from Yasukuni. While prime minister, Aso has also avoided the shrine.

Cui said the two nations should abide by an "understanding" they have reached on the shrine -- one which apparently entails the Japanese leader avoiding visits there while in office.

When Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao meet Aso, they may pointedly remind him of their stance. But Cui's comments indicated that Beijing does not want the row to escalate.

"We cannot let this harm the development of bilateral relations," said Cui. "As long as both sides abide by their shared understanding, this incident will not create too much damage to both China and Japan, as happened several years ago."

(Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Nick Macfie)