The meeting between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which finally took place Monday in Beijing, is just a first step in restoring bilateral relations that have reached their lowest ebb since the two nations normalized diplomatic ties in 1972.
The summit itself does not resolve many of the differences that stalled dialogue between the leaders of the two Asian neighbors for 2½ years. Now Abe and Xi need to manage them in ways that move Japan-China ties forward.
The meeting held on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which Xi hosted, was Abe's first with the Chinese leader since Abe returned to the government's helm in December 2012.