Despite vociferous rhetoric and confrontations over the South China Sea at the Asia-Europe Meeting, Japan's prime minister and China's premier took care to ensure their meeting could be viewed as a small step forward in bilateral relations.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang both outwardly took strong enough stances on sovereignty issues to satisfy their domestic audiences, but they also left the door open for further cooperation in areas where needed.
Abe, meeting Li for the first time in eight months Friday on the sidelines of the summit in Ulaanbaatar, was tasked with pushing Japan's position that maritime territorial disputes should be dealt with in accordance with international law following the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague's ruling Tuesday dismissing China's sweeping claims to most of the South China Sea.