They’re at it again. China and Japan are frenemies, trading partners and uneasy neighbors with a tortured and bloody history they’re still working through.

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Friday she would meet her counterparts in the United States next week to discuss rare earths supplies, and repeated Tokyo's condemnation of China over its latest export controls.

China sought to reassure Japanese businesses that its latest export controls are narrowly targeted, saying that civilian use will remain unaffected by curbs intended to limit military applications.

China has escalated its trade tensions with Japan by launching an investigation into imported dichlorosilane, a chemical gas used in making semiconductors

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - China is ramping up economic and political pressure on Japan, announcing on Tuesday a ban on exports of equipment with dual military and civilian applications, including items that use rare earth elements.

Japan and China agreed in June 2008 to cooperate over oil and gas resources in the East China Sea, but negotiations came to a halt two years later due to rising tensions between the two countries.

China's export ban on dual-use items to Japan will only affect military firms, the commerce ministry said on Thursday, helping calm fears that Beijing might curb rare-earth shipments vital to Japan's automotive industry over Tokyo's remarks on Taiwan.

In what appears to be a concerted effort, China's foreign and defense ministries issued statements on Thursday condemning alleged re-militarism efforts by Tokyo