The persistent deep divisions between Japan and China and also South Korea - rifts involving Asia’s largest economies - are undermining broader regional co-operation ahead of a pioneering summit of Asia-Pacific leaders this month.

Cui Tiankai, the head of the Chinese foreign ministry’s Asian affairs department, said in Beijing on Wednesday that it was “impossible” for Wen Jiabao, the premier, to meet with prime minister Junichiro Koizumi at the summit in Malaysia in mid-December.

Mr Cui said the Japanese prime minister’s decision to continue visiting Tokyo’s Yasukuni shrine - which houses the spirits of Japan’s war dead, including war criminals - made a meeting with Mr Wen out of the question.

“Even under such circumstances, Japan wants everything to proceed normally, but that’s impossible,” he said.

The rift between Japan and China is making it difficult to determine a genuine agenda for the Kuala Lumpur meeting, which brings together the leaders of the 10 nations of Asean, along with China, Japan and South Korea in east Asia, plus Australia, New Zealand and India.

Supporters of the East Asia summit, as it is called, are pushing for the meeting to become a permanent annual feature of the region’s political calendar.

But the split between Tokyo and Beijing and also Seoul is making discussions on the summit’s agenda and future problematic.

“These difficulties are making neighbouring countries anxious and they have good reason to be,” said Mr Cui.

The summit will be held the day after the traditional Asean+3 meeting, which involves south-east Asian nations and Japan, China and South Korea.

Relations with South Korea, a former Japanese colony, also remain severely strained as a result of Mr Koziumi’s visits to the Tokyo shrine.

Ban Ki-moon, the foreign minister, said on Wednesday South Korea would not hold a bilateral summit with Japan during the Asean+3 and East Asia summits, the latest diplomatic snub directed at Tokyo.

“At present, we have not considered holding a meeting between President Roh Moo-hyun and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi,” Mr Ban said.

After Mr Koizumi again in October visited the shrine, which South Korea and China say glorifies war criminals, Mr Ban cancelled but then reinstated a visit to Tokyo.

Mr Roh and Mr Koizumi then went ahead with a bilateral summit during last month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in the South Korean port city of Busan, although the discussions were reportedly frosty.

Mr Ban said that he would instead use “spontaneous opportunities” at the meetings to exchange views with Taro Aso, his Japanese counterpart, on his “perception of history”.

”I’m thinking of telling [Mr Aso] that, as foreign minister, he should take a more prudent attitude, which would be helpful in amicably resolving various outstanding issues,” Mr Ban said.

Seoul on Monday said Mr Aso had “misguided views” about the countries’ history, after the Japanese foreign minister was quoted as saying that China and South Korea were “the only countries in the world that talk about Yasukuni”.

A three-way meeting between the foreign ministers of China, Japan and South Korea, a feature of the Asean+3 meetings since 1999, is also unlikely to go ahead in Malaysia.