China said Thursday that no date has been set for negotiations on implementing the principled consensus with Japan on the East China Sea issue.

During a visit late May, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and then Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama held talks in Tokyo, agreeing to start negotiations on implementing the principled consensus on the East China Sea issue, which was reached in June 2008.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang described the agreement as "an important step towards reaching a proper solution to the East China Sea issue," but gave no timeline for fresh talks.

"The exact date negotiations will start needs to be set through working-level communications between the two sides," said Qin at a regular news briefing.