Russia's deputy foreign minister, Alexei Borodavkin, received Chinese Ambassador Liu Guchang at the latter's request.
"The Chinese side was informed of the political and legal motives behind Russia's decision and expressed an understanding of them," the ministry said in a statement.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed resolutions officially recognizing South Ossetia and Abkhazia as sovereign states on Tuesday, saying recognition was necessary to protect the republics from Georgian acts of aggression, following the August 8 military offensive in South Ossetia.
Russia's move sparked protests in the West, leading to the freezing of Russia's relations with NATO and consideration by EU countries of imposing sanctions against Moscow.
Internal territorial problems are not uncommon for China. There are several regions with active secessionist groups, including Tibet and Xinjiang, and the issue of Taiwan is never far from the concerns of Chinese leaders.
Taiwan split from China following the 1949 Civil War, and China considers the self-governed island to be part of its territory and has not ruled out military action to prevent the province from breaking permanently from the mainland.
Since 1971, few countries have recognized the province as a sovereign state. Currently 23 states maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
