China's and Japan's top leaders met in Belgium, indicating a thaw in relations since a diplomatic battle broke out last month over Japan's arrest of a Chinese fishing captain off the disputed Diaoyu Islands, CNN reported. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan met Monday in Brussels, on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting. They met in a corridor outside the conference venue after a working dinner and spoke for about 25 minutes, Kan told reporters, according to Japan's Kyodo news agency. During the meeting, Wen stressed the mutual benefits of Beijing and Tokyo maintaining good relations, according to China's state-run media. Kan said likewise, Kyodo said. Wen and Kan "agreed to step up people-to-people exchange and communication between the governments and hold China-Japan high-level meeting at an appropriate time," according to the Xinhua news agency.
