China condemns Abe's Yasukuni shrine visit as 'brazen'

China has strongly condemned Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the Yasukuni war shrine as a 'brazen' act.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the visit 'grossly tramples on the sentiment of Asian people victimized in World War Two' and created another 'political barrier to the improvement of bilateral ties'.

Abe's visit to Yasukuni has escalated tensions between China and Japan, which have been aggravated by territorial disputes in the East China Sea.