China, Japan seek to improve ties as Xi, Abe meet

China's leader Xi Jinping and Japan's Shinzo Abe sought to reset their countries' troubled relationship Monday at their first meeting in over a year, with the Japanese prime minister calling China an "important friend". For his part Abe described China as "an important friend of Japan's since long ago". The relationship between the two powers is crucial to Asian stability, and Abe said they were "both responsible for the region's peace and prosperity as well as the global economy".