China Tuesday urged Japan to strictly abide by the consensus reached between the two countries on removing political obstacles in bilateral relations.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu was responding to a question concerning Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's offering to the Yasukuni Shrine under the name of prime minister.

"The Yasukuni Shrine issue is an important and sensitive political issue in China-Japan relations," Jiang told a regular press briefing.

She said the two countries had reached consensus on removing bilateral political obstacles and pushing forward friendly cooperation.

"We hope Japan strictly abide by the consensus," the spokesperson added.

Abe offered a potted masakaki tree last month labeled with the words "prime minister" to mark Yasukuni's spring festival, but had not attended in person, according to a spokesperson of the shrine.

Japanese media said Abe paid 50,000 yen (420 US dollars) for the offering of the tree.

Seoul on Tuesday expressed regrets over Abe's offering to the shrine, saying it runs counter to the correct interpretation of history that provides the very foundation of peace and stability in the region

"Our government greatly regrets this," the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Korea said in a statement.

The Yasukuni Shrine, regarded as a symbol of Japan's past militarism, honors more than two million Japanese war dead along with 14 charged as Class-A war criminals, who were responsible for the most atrocious crimes during Japan's war of aggression against its Asian neighbors.