Beijing on Friday played down the possibility of a conflict between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands, urging Tokyo to show restraint and solve problems through talks.

"We hope the Japanese side can exercise sincerity with calmness, work for shared goals with China, and thus find ways to properly solve and manage problems through consultations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said during a regular news briefing.

Hong made the remarks in a response to confrontations between both sides' ships and planes around the waters off the islands, which have belonged to China for centuries but were illegally "nationalized" by Tokyo last year.