Beijing has already lodged protests after Japan arrested the captain of a boat that collided with two Japanese coast guard boats near disputed islets in the East China Sea.
Ties between Beijing and Tokyo have long been dogged by mutual distrust and Chinese bitterness over Japan's occupation of much of China before and during World War Two.
"A wave of indignation is also brewing in Chinese society, which might snowball into a major public outcry if the Japanese authorities continue to take a hard-line stance on the incident," said an editorial in the official China Daily.
"Sino-Japanese relations have shown signs of warming recently. The latest incident could easily squander what could be a golden opportunity for bilateral ties to flourish."
Tokyo has also lodged protests with Beijing over the incident, while Japan's top government spokesman called for calm.
The Nikkei business daily urged the Japanese government to take a firm stance, warning that if it were vague in its response such incidents would recur.
"What this problem has thrown into relief is the tough security environment surrounding Japan. China, aiming at ensuring its maritime rights, is intensifying the increase in its naval power," the paper said in an editorial.
"WEAKNESS IS SHAMEFUL"
Since big public protests and bitter diplomatic exchanges marred ties in 2005 and 2006, both sides have made a determined effort to improve ties. But broader contention over disputed seas could unsettle ties between the two huge economies.
China has been Japan's biggest trading partner since 2009, and their bilateral trade reached 12.6 trillion yen ($150.4 billion), a jump of 34.5 percent on the same time last year, according to Japanese statistics.
But China's relations with Japan have long been exposed to pressure from domestic public opinion, which polls show continues to distrust Japan.
That public rancour echoed on the Chinese Internet, underscoring the expectations for an unyielding response facing the country's ruling Communist Party leadership.
"Weakness is shameful," said a comment left on the website of the Global Times newspaper (www.huanqiu.com), a popular Chinese tabloid run by the People's Daily.
The latest incident took place near a group of East China Sea islets — called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China — over which Tokyo and Beijing, as well as Taiwan, claim sovereignty.
No one was injured in the incident.
Zhan Qixiong, the captain of the Chinese boat was taken to the southern Japanese island of Ishigaki, and on Thursday morning to a prosecutor's office, China's Xinhua news agency reported.
The other 14 members of the boat crew are being kept elsewhere on the island and have not been arrested, said Xinhua.
