The leaders of China and Japan have met for formal talks after more than two years of tension over a territorial row, Japanese officials say.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit in Beijing.
The talks are the first between the two leaders. Mr Abe said it was the first step to “improving ties”.
Relations have been soured by the row over islands in the East China Sea.
The strategically important islands, known as Diaoyu by China and Senkaku by Japan, are controlled by Japan.
Tokyo’s decision to purchase three of them from their private Japanese owner in September 2012 led to an escalation in a dispute that has rumbled quietly for years.
China has also complained about what it sees as Japan’s failure to adequately acknowledge its war-time actions.
Mr Abe said the meeting was “the first step for improving ties by returning to mutually beneficial relations based on common strategic interests”, according to AFP news agency.
He also said the two countries had agreed to start preparations to establish a maritime crisis mechanism, AFP said.
There have been fears that a clash – accidental or otherwise – between Chinese and Japanese paramilitary vessels patrolling waters around the disputed islands could trigger a conflict.
‘Robust conversation’
The meeting came with leaders from the 21 Apec member-nations in the Chinese capital for two days of talks.
Bilateral meetings between top leaders are taking place on Monday, followed by a formal leaders’ summit on Tuesday.
The meeting comes as China looks to underline its growing status as regional leader and economic giant.
The Apec summit is the biggest event hosted so far by Mr Xi, who took over the Chinese presidency in March 2013.
Both US President Barack Obama and Russia leader Vladimir Putin are attending and will deliver speeches later in the day.
But the two men are not expected to hold talks, amid frosty ties over Russia’s support for separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Australian leader Tony Abbott, however, says he is seeking a “robust conversation” with Mr Putin over MH17, the Malaysia Airlines plane brought down by a missile over Ukraine.
Talks would focus on “our absolute expectation that Russia will be as good as its word, that it will fully co-operate with the investigations that are underway and that it will do what it can to ensure that justice is done”, Mr Abbott said.
The plane is believed to have been hit by a surface-to-air missile fired from an area controlled by pro-Russian rebels. Russian officials have denied the allegations.
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Source: BBC