From July 8 to 9, 2006, China and Japan held the sixth round of East China Sea talks in Beijing. Director of Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of Asian Affairs Hu Zhengyue and head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Kenichiro Sasae headed their delegations to attend the talks. The two sides acknowledged the importance of maintaining stability in the East China Sea and exchanged views on the proposals of each side on jointly exploring the resources of the East China Sea in a candid manner. Despite great differences, the two sides agreed that this round of talks is conducive and pragmatic and they will continue the negotiation process.

Both sides also agreed in principle to set up a maritime hotline as a communication mechanism to deal with unpredictable situations in the East China Sea.

The two countries conducted their previous five rounds of East China Sea talks in October 2004, May 2005, September 30 to October 1, 2005, March 2006 and May 2006 respectively.