Japan, China leaders to meet at APEC amid tensions

Chinese President Hu Jintao, left, is welcomed by Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan to the APEC summit in Yokohama, Japan, on Saturday. Photo: AP.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry says the leaders of Japan and China will meet on the sidelines of a Pacific Rim summit amid a territorial dispute that has badly strained ties between the Asian neighbours.

It would be the first formal meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Chinese President Hu Jintao since tensions between the two countries soared two months ago in a spat over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Mr. Hu is in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, for an annual summit of Pacific Rim countries and territories.