From asashi.com (link):
A smiling Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing addressed his Japanese counterpart, Taro Aso, and reporters who had gathered to cover the ministers’ first meeting in Qatar on Tuesday. “Japan’s men’s soccer team is very strong, isn’t it?” Li said. “In China, women’s soccer is stronger.”
Given the fact that Li had harshly criticized Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi‘s visits to Yasukuni Shrine in March, his soft tone implied a change in China’s stance toward Japan.
See also: Media tycoon calls for clearer war apology by Japanese premiers on Kyoto News.