China PR defeated Korea Republic for the first time in their history today, recording a 3-0 victory over the defending champions to put them in a strong position to claim the East Asian Championship title.

Yu Hai opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a header from Qu Bo's cross, before Gao Lin doubled their advantage in the 26th minute.

Deng Zhouxiang then completed the victory on the hour mark, dribbling through the defence before driving home.

The win was China's first in 28 attempts over the Koreans since the two sides first met in 1978.

China have four points from two matches following their goalless draw with hosts Japan. They will tackle minnows Hong Kong in their last match at the four-team tournament.

Korea Republic must defeat Japan to have a chance of winning the event for the second successive year.