BEIJING - China is handling the rotation of the Japanese ambassador to China in accordance with international practice and relevant procedures, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Friday.

Hong made the remarks at a regular press conference while answering a question related to the new ambassador's assumption of duty.

Kyodo News Agency reported that the current ambassador to China, Uichiro Niwa, is scheduled to return home in late November. Hidehisa Horinouchi, a minister at the embassy, will stand in for the envoy until the arrival of the new ambassador.

Kyodo said the Japanese government is planning to have Masato Kitera, a career diplomat now working as assistant chief cabinet secretary, start serving as the new ambassador to China in late December.

"We all know that the extremely severe situation of China-Japan relations at present is totally due to the Japanese side," said Hong.

He added that the priority is for Japan to show its sincerity and resolve the problems with concrete actions, so as to resume the normal development of bilateral ties.

"We hope Japan will make substantial efforts to this end," Hong said.