The fifth round of talks on the East China Sea issues between China and Japan will be held on May 18 in Tokyo, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Jianchao announced Tuesday.

Director of the FM Department of Asian Affairs Hu Zhengyue, and his Japanese counterpart Kenichiro Sasae, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, will be top negotiators of the two sides respectively, Liu said.

Liu said the two sides will continue to exchange views on the East China Sea issue and the Chinese side believes that the consultation will help both sides to more consensus and narrowing differences.

However, it is hard to make any breakthroughs in this round of talks due to the disputes on some complicated issues, Liu said, adding the Chinese side will continue to conduct serious consultations with the Japanese side in a responsible and active attitude, in a bid to narrow the gap between the two sides.

Since October 2004, China and Japan have held four rounds of talks on the East China Sea issues. Last round of talks was held in Beijing in March this year.

Source: Xinhua