China plans to limit Japan's stake in the Chunxiao natural gas field project in the East China Sea to 33.3 percent or lower to keep the initiative, the Tokyo Shimbun reported, citing unidentified officials in the two countries.

Japan expressed no objection to China's proposal about capping the investment, the report said. China and Japan in June agreed to jointly develop the field, ending a four-year argument between Asia's biggest energy consumers over who owns the reserves.