Japan's foreign minister to visit China on Wednesday

Japan's foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya will visit China on Wednesday for talks with local counterpart Wang Yi, Beijing said.

The visit will be Iwaya's first to China since becoming Tokyo's top diplomat earlier this year.

"China is ready to work with Japan... to focus on common interests, strengthen dialogue and communication, deepen practical cooperation (and) properly manage differences," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

Beijing would "strive to build a constructive and stable China-Japan relationship that meets the requirements of the new era", she added.

"The Chinese side attaches great importance to the foreign minister’s visit, and Chinese leaders will meet with the foreign minister," she said.

China and Japan are key trading partners, but increased friction over territorial rivalries and military spending has frayed ties in recent years.

Japan's brutal occupation of parts of China before and during World War II remains a sore point, with Beijing accusing Tokyo of failing to atone for its past.

Visits by Japanese officials to the Yasukuni shrine that honours war dead -- including convicted war criminals -- regularly prompt anger from Beijing.

Tokyo is a longstanding and key US ally, but it has been expanding its partnerships as a bulwark against Beijing.