Kan, Hu hold first bilateral talks since collision row

Kan, Hu hold first bilateral talks since collision row

2010-11-14 11:12:45 GMT+7 (ICT)

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN (BNO NEWS) -- Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Chinese President Hu Jintao held their first official talks on Saturday in a step toward mending bilateral ties strained from a spat stemming from September's collisions between vessels near a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea.

According to Japanese officials quoted by Kyodo, Kan told Hu about Japan's "strong position" of their country on the Senkaku islands, claimed by Beijing and managed by Tokyo during the meeting on the sidelines of a two-day Pacific Rim summit in Yokohama.

"The prime minister Kan told him the strong position of Japan on the Senkaku" Japan government's deputy spokesman, Tetsuro Fukuyama, told reporters. "President Hu also announced China's position," he added.

Fukuyama also said Kan and Hu shared the view that "development of long-term, stable strategic, mutually beneficial ties is of benefit to both countries’ people and is also extremely important to peace and development in the region and world."

After Japanese authorities arrested a Chinese trawler captain last September for ramming into a Japan Coast Guard patrol boats, both nations were locked in a diplomatic battle, until the the captain was released following Beijing's strong calls to free him.

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