Japan PM Kishida, China President Xi set to meet on sidelines of APEC forum

Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is set to hold a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the United States, their first meeting in about a year.

China's suspension of Japanese seafood imports will likely be high on their agenda.

The Japanese government announced that the two leaders will meet on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Kishida hopes to confirm that Japan and China will cooperate on shared challenges and maintain communication looking toward the future to build a constructive and stable bilateral relationship.

Among the most urgent issues is Beijing's suspension of Japanese seafood imports in August following Japan's release of treated and diluted water into the ocean from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Water used to cool molten fuel has been mixing with rain and groundwater seeping into the crippled reactor buildings. The accumulated water is being treated to remove most radioactive substances, but it still contains tritium.

Before releasing the water into the ocean, the plant's operator dilutes it to reduce tritium levels to about one-seventh of the World Health Organization's guidance level for drinking water.

Kishida also plans to bring up other matters of concern, such as China's detention of Japanese nationals for alleged spying activities.