Xi meets Abe for first summit in over two years

Beijing

CHINA and Japan broke a two-and-a-half year summit drought as the leaders of Asia's two largest economies sought to repair ties frayed by territorial and historical disputes.

Televised footage showed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping standing stiffly without smiling ahead of a meeting that ran for about 25 minutes and which China's official Xinhua News Agency said was requested by Japan. Mr Abe's visit to Beijing for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum is his first trip to China since taking office in December 2012.