Prime Minister Shinzo Abe¡¯s long-sought meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping was supposed to herald a fresh start to soured relations. Their body language told a different story.
The two men, both in gray suits, looked ill-at-ease as they shook hands for the cameras at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing before heading into a 25-minute discussion on the sidelines of a regional summit. The leaders of Asia¡¯s two biggest economies weighed each other up with stern faces, barely making eye contact after a 2?-year hiatus in formal top-level meetings caused by rows over territory and Japan¡¯s wartime past.
While Abe later told reporters the two had talked of greater cooperation and said it was the first step toward improving ties, China¡¯s official Xinhua News Agency pointed out Xi had granted the meeting at Japan¡¯s request. The frigid atmosphere captured in photos splayed across China¡¯s state-owned media was in stark contrast to those depicting a smiling reunion between Xi and South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
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