Japan close in on World Cup qualification, Saudi Arabia and South Korea stumble
Koki Ogawa's double in Xiamen earned Japan a fifth win in six games and allowed the four-times Asian champions to extend their lead over the chasing pack with four games remaining as Australia and Saudi Arabia both faltered.
Kusini Yengi's stoppage-time goal salvaged a point for the Socceroos in Riffa while the Saudis fell to a surprise 2-0 loss against Indonesia in Jakarta on a night of unpredictable results across the continent.
Group B leaders South Korea were frustrated in Amman as Hong Myung-bo's side were held to a 1-1 draw by Palestine while Iran needed a late Sardar Azmoun goal to consolidate their grip on first place in Group A with a 3-2 win over Kyrgyzstan.
The top two in each of the continent's three preliminary groups qualify for the World Cup and Japan are now on the verge of confirming their place at their eighth consecutive finals.
Moriyasu's outfit had thrashed China 7-0 in their previous meeting in September and went ahead in the 39th minute when Ogawa powered his header past Wang Dalei.
Six minutes into stoppage time Ko Itakura doubled Japan's lead after Koki Machida had flicked on Junya Ito's corner from the right.
Lin Liangming pulled one back for China three minutes into the second half but a 54th-minute header from Ogawa sealed the win for the Japanese.
Australia needed Yengi's late equaliser to claim a point having seen Mahdi Abduljabbar score in the 75th and 77th minutes - the first from 40 yards - to cancel out Portsmouth striker Yengi's first-minute opener for Tony Popovic's side.
The Socceroos remain second in the standings, one point ahead of Indonesia, who pulled themselves into contention in Group C with victory over Saudi Arabia.
Marselino Ferdinan scored twice to give the home side their first win of the campaign, which moves them level on six points with the Saudis, Bahrain and China.
In Group A, Uzbekistan secured a 1-0 win over North Korea in Vientiane with Abbosbek Fayzullaev's deflected 44th-minute shot giving his side the lead before Umarbek Eshmurodov was sent off and Utkir Yusupov saved Jong Il Gwan's late penalty.
Iran retained their three-point advantage with Azmoun rescuing his team with a 76th-minute header after a Joel Kojo double had pulled Kyrgyzstan level following first-half goals from Mehdi Taremi and Saleh Hardani.
The United Arab Emirates thrashed Qatar 5-0 with Brazil-born striker Fabio Lima scoring four, including two from the penalty spot, as Paulo Bento's team took sole possession of third place ahead of the reigning Asian champions.
In Group B, leaders South Korea failed to win for the first time in five matches with Hong's side needing Son's 16th-minute strike to cancel out an early Zeid Qunbar opener.
Iraq downed Oman 1-0 in Muscat thanks to Youssef Amyn's 36th-minute goal to move onto 11 points with Jordan in third after their 1-1 draw with hosts Kuwait.