Senior Japanese officials said the communique had been released jointly by the two nations, and expressed shock that it had been altered by China.

Reports by the newspaper Asahi Shimbun and other Japanese media said several sections were missing from the Chinese version, including a mention of Japan's hopes for a rise in the value of the yuan, the Chinese currency.

But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the document had not been released jointly and "therefore it is natural to have something different in respective documents of the two sides."

"We believe these reports to be a discordant voice among the atmosphere of friendly cooperation between the two countries and they are not in line with fact," Qin told reporters at a regular briefing.

The Dec. 1-2 trade and investment talks in Beijing were hailed as a success by both sides and marked a new willingness to move beyond divisive disputes that have strained relations over the past decade.

Members of a delegation led by Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura met with China's top leaders, including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, bringing together the largest number of Cabinet officials from the countries since they opened diplomatic ties 35 years ago.

"I was extremely shocked to know that this was done with the full awareness of the Chinese side," Trade Minister Akira Amari said Tuesday at a news conference in Tokyo. "It's the sort of the thing that harms the credibility of negotiations, and we hope to get it corrected quickly."

Japanese officials have said the meetings addressed a recent downturn in business ties amid concerns over Chinese copyright piracy, opaque regulations and the relative weakness of the yuan that foreign partners say gives an unfair advantage to Chinese exports.

China and Japan also agreed to convene a second dialogue session by the end of 2008, work toward a regional free-trade zone, promote energy efficiency and improve joint measures to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and smuggling.

"Given that the two sides said that 'these are the sorts of things we are going to announce,' we'd like to see it carried out that way, especially since six ministers from Japan and another seven from (China) went to the trouble of attending," Komura said Tuesday.

Qin, the Chinese ministry spokesman, said he didn't think the move would affect relations.

"Some Japanese media and some people should regard this incident in a calm and prudent way," he said.

Associated Press reporter Carl Freire in Tokyo contributed to this report.