A Japanese official says that the leaders of Japan and China have agreed to a one-to-one meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Santiago, Chile.  

A press officer at Japan's Foreign Ministry, Hatsuhisa Takashima, said on Friday that agreement for a rare session between Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi came about after foreign ministers from both countries got involved in negotiations.

The officer added that the two leaders "will seek to further strengthen bilateral ties for the sake of world peace."

On the same day, Koizumi's spokesman, Hiroyuki Hosoda, confirmed the upcoming leaders' meeting.

The two leaders last met at the APEC summit in Bangkok last October. But Koizumi has not been to China for a full summit since 2001. And not a Chinese president has been to Japan after former leader Jiang Zemin's visit in 1998.

(CRI.com November 19, 2004)