Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Representatives for Japan and China, Asia's two biggest energy users, will meet on Sept. 21 for the 10th round of talks to resolve a dispute over natural gas fields in the East China Sea.

Kenichiro Sasae, head of Asian and Oceania Affairs at Japan's foreign ministry, will lead a delegation to Beijing to meet his Chinese counterpart Hu Zhengyue, Japan's trade ministry said in a statement.

The two nations are in disagreement over the ownership of reserves that may include as much as 200 billion cubic meters of natural gas. China says its territory extends to the end of the continental shelf, while Japan says the sea border is halfway between the countries' shores.

Japan and China have so far failed to agree on how to conduct joint development of the fields, including the Chunxiao site that can produce as much as 2 billion cubic meters of gas a year. The first meeting between the two was held in October 2004.

To contact the reporter for this story: Megumi Yamanaka in Tokyo at myamanaka@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 6, 2007 20:14 EDT