Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in Beijing on Monday, marking the first time the two formally sat down for talks after more than two years of strained relations between both countries.

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China and Japan, the world's second- and third-biggest economies, have been embroiled in a bitter row over disputed islands in the East China Sea, regional rivalry, and Tokyo's efforts to downplay its wartime history with Beijing.

The meeting comes after both sides agreed last week to work towards improving bilateral ties based on a four-point agreement intended to resume political and diplomatic dialogue, and at the same time acknowledged each other's opposing claims over the contested islands.

The two leaders were unsmiling as they stiffly shook hands at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, just hours before Xi was due to host an economic meeting, Reuters relayed citing media footage of the incident.

Later, Abe told reporters he and Xi had discussed the possibility of creating a "maritime communication mechanism" intended to diffuse heated clashes over rival claims to the Japanese-administered Senkaku islands in the East China Sea. The disputed islands are also referred to as Diaoyu in Chinese.

Abe expressed hope that China-Japan relations would return to its original state of having a "mutually beneficial" relationship.

For his part, Xi acknowledged the importance of developing China-Japan relations in the interest of the global community. He urged Japan to work towards enhancing mutual trust, not just with China but with neighboring states as well, in order to safeguard peace and stability in the region.

Xi also called on Abe to recognize the impact of Japan's wartime history on the Chinese people's national sentiment.

He said Abe should honor commitments made by previous Japanese administrations, including that of former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama where he noted the damage and suffering brought about by Japan's colonial aggression and vowed that no such mistake should be made again.

While Abe expressed willingness to continue towards the path of peaceful development and to maintain the same views upheld by previous administrations on the war history issue, he has neither signaled a change in stance on the disputed islands' sovereignty, nor agreed to stop visits to the war dead at Yasukuni shrine.

TagsAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC summit, China-Japan relations, Senkaku Islands, maritime dispute, Japan's wartime history