BEIJING – The Chinese and Japanese prime ministers have held an impromptu meeting at a conference in Europe amid a bitter offshore territorial dispute.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan met briefly in Brussels, where both were attending the Asia-Europe Meeting, and agreed to set wheels on motion to improve relations.
A statement posted on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said they agreed to hold “high-level” talks, but did not specify where or when.
But the statement said Wen reiterated that contested uninhabited islands in the East China Sea – called Diaoyu by China and Senkaku by Japan – belong to China.
In Tokyo Tuesday, Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara reiterated Tokyo’s sovereignty over the islands.
