The handshake in Beijing between Xi Jinping and Shinzo Abe marks an important moment in the hitherto fraught relationship between China and Japan. The Chinese president and Japanese prime minister talked on Monday for only 25 minutes on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit. Judging by the body language, their encounter could not have been more frosty. But for the past two years, relations between the two governments have been minimal, bringing both close to armed conflict. That these two men have now had the sense to meet, however briefly, is something to be welcomed far beyond the Asian continent.
習近平與安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)在北京握手，標誌着近來一直緊張的中日關係出現了一個重要時刻。週一，在亞太經合組織(APEC)峯會正式會議以外，中國國家主席和日本首相僅交談了25分鐘。從肢體語言判斷，兩人會面時的氣氛冷淡至極。但過去兩年來，中日兩國政府之間僅維持最低限度的關係，幾乎爆發武力衝突。如今這兩個人願意會面，無論多麼短暫，這都是值得全世界歡迎的事情。