Asia markets saw gains on Wednesday, despite the White House's restatement of its tough stance on trade.

The recovered from its losses in the morning to end higher by 0.39 percent at 24,033.79. The Topix index, on the other hand, rose from its earlier low to close largely flat at 1,821.67.

Down Under, the ASX 200 pared some of its gains but still closed higher by 0.1 percent at 6,192.3, with major miner Rio Tinto advancing by 1.16 percent while BHP Billiton was higher by 1.17 percent.

In Greater China markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index traded higher by 1.24 percent as of 3:15 p.m. HK/SIN. Hotpot chain Haidilao, which went public on Wednesday, traded at 17.88 Hong Kong dollars ($2.28) per share after reaching a high of HK$19.64 earlier. Its issue price was at HK$17.80 per share.

Over on the mainland, the closed higher by 0.92 percent at around 2,806.82 while the Shenzhen composite advanced by 0.733 percent at about 1,447.85.

South Korean markets were closed for a public holiday.