TOKYO, Nov 2 (AFP) - German Chancellor Helmut Kohl underlined the importance of economic links with China and downplayed human rights concerns Saturday before leaving Tokyo for Moscow at the end of his three-nation Asian tour.

In a meeting with Japanese business leaders before winding up a three-day stay, Kohl questioned US-style diplomacy with China which focuses on human rights issues.

"I don't think it is important to make judgments based only on human rights issues," he was quoted as saying at a breakfast meeting at the Japan Federation of Economic Organisations (Keidanren).

"Americans say, 'Germans think only about economy,' but it is good to combine economy and other aspects," the German chancellor said, according to Keidanren officials.

Kohl, who had also visited Indonesia and the Philippines, was scheduled to meet Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin in Moscow and expected to check on the health of ailing Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

Kohl's remarks gave another sign of improvement in German-China ties strained by a recent diplomatic dispute over China's policies toward the restive Himalayan region of Tibet.

German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel has said he solved problems in the ties when he visited Beijing last month on a trip postponed by three months after the German parliament passed a resolution accusing China of trying to eradicate Tibet's cultural identity.

But Germany remained concerned about China's human rights situation as it denounced on Wednesday a tough verdict passed against Chinese dissident Wang Dan, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison by a Beijing court.

"We regret this harsh verdict," foreign ministry spokesman Martin Erdmann said in Bonn, adding that Kinkel had spoken in support of Wang during the Beijing trip. "We will continue to be involved in human rights issues (in China) both in general and in specific cases," Erdmann said.

Britain, France and Sweden have already criticized the judgement.

Kohl's Asian tour was seen aimed at furthering German economic and political interests in Asia. His government is especially keen to ensure that German businesses benefit from the Asian economic boom.

It was the chancellor's fifth Asian trip since German reunification in 1990 and the 11th since he came to power in 1982. The trip also coincided with the 14th anniversary of his term as chancellor on Thursday when he overtook Konrad Adenaur to become the longest-serving chancellor in post-war Germany.

Germany is Japan's biggest trading partner in Europe. Japanese exports to Germany rose 14.2 percent from a year earlier to 20.3 billion dollars in 1995. Imports of German goods jumped 23.1 percent to 13.7 billion dollars.

At Saturday's working breakfast, Kohl called on Japanese industries to invest in Eastern Europe and the former east German regions, the Keidanren officials said.

The meeting was attended by some 40 German visitors, including 25 business leaders, and 30 Japanese industrialists. Kohl later accepted a honorary doctorate of law at Tokyo's prestigious Keio University.

While in Tokyo, Kohl had talks with Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and was received by Emperor Akihito on Friday.

Kohl and Hashimoto agreed that their countries should hold annual summits, Japanese officials said.

Kohl said these would not have to held at yearly intervals in Tokyo and Bonn but could also take place on the sidelines of international conferences. Before Friday's meeting, Kohl and Hashimoto had already met twice this year at a summit in Bangkok in March and the Group of Seven summit in Lyon in July.