(VOVworld) - Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he hopes to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum scheduled for November, in Beijing to mend strained bilateral relations.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Since assuming the premiership for the second time in December 2012, Mr Abe has been unable to hold official one-on-one talks with Mr Xi.  Tokyo and Beijing have long been at odds over territorial claims and historical grievances largely tied to Tokyo's militarism in the first half of the 20th century.  Japan considers the next APEC forum to be the great chance for bilateral talks between Japan and China.

About China’s claim over the East China Sea and East Sea, Mr Abe has many times voiced his objections to any intention to change the status quo by force. He stressed that there are always problems between any two neighboring countries so that they need to control all the disputed issues between them. Mr Abe said that his door is always open for dialogue and he hoped the Chinese side adopts the same stance.