Xi Jinping waited in anticipation to greet Prime Minister Takaichi, shaking hands and taking a commemorative photo.

The Japanese prime minister, who had been beaming, mentioned a sensitive issue during the meeting, but Xi maintained a blank expression.

(Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul = Yonhap News) Correspondents Park Sang-hyun, Jeong Seong-jo, and Kwon Sook-hee = Chinese President Xi Jinping and new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held their first 'meeting' in Korea on the 31st amid tension.

It has been about a year since Xi Jinping met with the Japanese prime minister, and their first meeting lasted less than 30 minutes.

The two leaders, who are staying in Gyeongju to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, began their meeting with a handshake at a conference room near the summit venue that afternoon.

The city mayor, dressed in a dark blue suit and purple tie, came out first and waited.

Soon after, Prime Minister Takaichi appeared in a blue jacket, and President Xi shook his hand, saying"hello" (xiao hao), a Chinese greeting used in the afternoon.

After Prime Minister Takaichi also offered greetings to Chairman Xi, the two leaders shook hands with the national flags of both countries in the background and were greeted by a barrage of camera shutters.

Prime Minister Takaichi briefly smiled broadly as the camera zoomed in, but Chairman Xi remained almost expressionless.

China is often analyzed as sending diplomatic messages through facial expressions, so attention was also focused on Chairman Xi's changes in facial expressions.

Afterwards, as the leaders of the two countries moved to their seats in the conference room, President Xi extended his hand to Prime Minister Takaichi to guide him.

The meeting between Prime Minister Takaichi, known for his anti-China stance, and President Xi Jinping was tense even before the summit took place.

Until the day of the meeting, China had not officially announced that the meeting would be held.

In his opening remarks, Xi Jinping said,"Today was my first meeting with Prime Minister Takaichi," adding,"Prime Minister Takaichi stated after taking office that China is an important neighboring country of Japan and that we need to build constructive and stable relations."

There was no congratulatory message for Prime Minister Takaichi, who took office on the 21st of this month. Kyodo News, citing diplomatic sources, reported that China had previously sent a congratulatory message in the name of Premier Li Qiang, not President Xi.

The city mayor opened the meeting by saying,"This shows that Prime Minister Takaichi and the new cabinet attach great importance to Sino-Japanese relations," adding that he hopes to maintain communication with Prime Minister Takaichi.

In his subsequent remarks, Prime Minister Takaichi foreshadowed that he would discuss the difficulties facing China and Japan, saying,"There are also pending issues and challenges between our two countries."

In fact, Prime Minister Takaichi met with reporters after the summit and said that he conveyed his opinions to President Xi Jinping on various sensitive issues, including the Senkaku Islands, a disputed territory between the two countries, the East China Sea issue, rare earth export management, the need to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals residing in China, and concerns about the situation in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Earlier, Prime Minister Takaichi also posted a photo on his X (formerly Twitter) account of himself smiling and greeting the Chinese president before the APEC summit.

The meeting concluded in about 30 minutes. In 2024, the summit between President Xi and then-Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba lasted 35 minutes.

In 2023, the mayor and then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a 65-minute meeting.

The meeting was reportedly held at the Kolon Hotel, the residence of the Chinese president. However, neither country made an official announcement regarding the matter.

The meeting was broadcast on NHK, and Chinese state-run media only reported on the news.

The city mayor will attend the summit dinner that evening and continue with the rest of his schedule.