Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao will meet on Saturday in an effort to settle an ongoing dispute over Tokyo's handling of its wartime atrocities, officials said. The meeting will take place Saturday evening along the sidelines of a summit for Asian and African leaders in Jakarta, said Akira Chiba, a spokesman for Koizumi's delegation. "The prime minister said they will talk about friendship and cooperation, which are the key to prosperity of the region," Chiba told The Associated Press. "We were very eager to meet each other and we are happy that it's happening." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan confirmed that the meeting would be held later Saturday. "The most important point is bilateral relations. That will be the main theme of the talks between the two leaders," Kong said. "We attach emphasis on developing neighboring, friendly and cooperative relations with Japan," he said. "We hope leaders of the two countries can ... eliminate the negative impacts created by Japan's erroneous actions so that Sino-Japanese relations can move forward smoothly on a healthy foundation."
