Japan's Abe urges reset in ties in meeting with Xi Jinping
Brief encounter on sidelines of G20 unlikely to change Beijing's stance on talks with Tokyo to thrash out differences over East China Sea islands
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for China and Japan to reset their frayed ties when he briefly met President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
But Beijing is likely to react coolly to Abe's entreaty, as it fears Tokyo may still emphasise tough rhetoric as it boosts its military capability, observers said.
The two leaders shook hands and "exchanged polite greetings" for about five minutes shortly before G20 leaders began their main discussion, their first face-to-face encounter since the Japanese national government purchased the disputed Diaoyu Islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan, a move that heightened the risk of military confrontation.
Chinese media also highlighted the brief encounter, with state television reporting the encounter on its evening main newscast.
Xi told Abe the relationship between the two nations was "facing grave difficulties" that both sides were "unwilling to see".
Xi said China wanted to improve ties with Japan, but on the basis of four bilateral political documents signed in the 1970s, when the two nations normalised relations, Xinhua reported. China hoped Japan could handle the territorial dispute in a "correct" manner, it said.
Both nations have been locking horns over the islands in the East China Sea, with Beijing expressing anger over Tokyo's purchase of the islands, and Japan's moves to build up its national defence.