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 The meeting took place despite an awkward diplomatic backdrop.
Speaking at the conference earlier, Abe warned powerful nations
against imposing on the weak, an implicit reference to China. He
also made an allusion to Tokyo's remorse in the past over World War
Two without issuing a fresh apology.
Also on Wednesday, lawmakers from Abe's ruling party and the
opposition visited a Japanese war shrine in Tokyo that is seen in
China as a symbol of Tokyo's past militarism.
But Xi and Abe held talks in the early evening in a meeting room at
the Jakarta Convention Centre, the venue of the Asian-African
summit. "It is ongoing," a Japanese foreign ministry spokesman said
after the talks started.
Abe and Xi left the room about half an hour later.
Tensions between Asia's two biggest economies have flared in recent
years due to feuds over wartime history as well as territorial rows
and regional rivalry. Memories of Japan's past military aggression
run deep in China and Beijing has repeatedly urged Japan to face up
to history.
But the meeting on Wednesday could promote a cautious rapprochement
that began when Abe and Xi met at a summit in Beijing late last
year.
"The country (China) is shifting to a policy of stressing that it
hopes for stable relations with its neighbors," said Hiroko Maeda, a
research fellow at the PHP Institute in Tokyo.
Earlier in the day, Abe said: "We should never allow to go unchecked
the use of force by the mightier to twist the weaker around.
"The wisdom of our forefathers in Bandung was that the rule of law
should protect the dignity of sovereign nations, be they large or
small," he said at the summit marking the 60th anniversary of the
Bandung Conference, a meeting of Asian and African leaders opposed
to colonialism.
Xi had spoken at the conference earlier but did not make any
reference to relations with Japan.
RECONCILIATION AND TRUST
China is locked in territorial rows with several smaller countries
in the South China Sea while Japan has a separate feud over islets
in the East China Sea.
Abe often warns against the use of force to change the status quo
and says the rule of law should prevail - both seen as implicit
criticism of China's assertiveness.
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Abe's stance on Japan's wartime past is especially sensitive this
year, when he plans to issue a statement marking the 70th
anniversary of the end of World War Two.
He has said that while he will uphold past apologies including a
1995 landmark statement by then-premier Tomiichi Murayama, he wants
to issue forward-looking remarks in his own words, sparking concern
he wants to water down past apologies.
Abe said in his Jakarta speech that Japan had, "with feelings of
deep remorse over the past war", pledged to adhere to principles
affirmed at the first Bandung Conference, including refraining from
the use of force and settling international disputes by peaceful
means.
In Beijing, China's foreign ministry protested against the visit to
the Yasukuni shrine by the Japanese lawmakers.
"In this sensitive year, Japanese politicians should adhere to
correct historical views and do more to promote reconciliation and
mutual trust with Asian neighbors, and not the opposite," said
China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in Beijing.
Abe's speech in Jakarta will be followed by a speech to the U.S.
Congress next week and a statement in August marking the anniversary
of the end of World War Two.
(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies, Kiyoshi Takenaka and Takaya
Yamaguchi in TOKYO and Michael Martina in BEIJING; Editing by Raju
Gopalakrishnan)
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