Four to meet on the sidelines

Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng will meet with their Japanese counterparts Fumio Kishida and Yoichi Miyazawa on the sidelines of the ongoing Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Ministerial Meeting, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Friday.

Qin said the meetings were scheduled at the request of Japan. In response to reports that Chinese and Japanese leaders will meet during the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Beijing on Monday and Tuesday, Qin said, "We hope that the Japanese side can continue to make efforts to meet China halfway and take concrete actions to improve bilateral ties, so as to create an enabling environment for the contact of the leaders of the two countries."