China's President Hu Jintao arrived in Japan Friday for a Pacific Rim summit, his first visit since a bitter territorial row erupted two months ago between Beijing and Tokyo.

Amid the feud, sparked by Japan's arrest of a Chinese trawler captain in disputed waters, no plans had been announced for a summit between Hu and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, host of the meeting of 21 economies.

Hu's plane touched down at Tokyo's Haneda Airport from Seoul, where he had attended a Group of 20 summit of leaders including Kan and US President Barack Obama, who has urged the Asian giants to settle their spat.

After he was greeted by Japanese officials on the tarmac, Hu left in a motorcade for his hotel where a row of employees applauded as he arrived in the heavily secured lobby, which had been cleared of other guests.

In Seoul, Kan indicated that he and Hu had only a brief, informal chat.

"I said hello to him and exchanged a few words," Kan told reporters afterward. "I told him: I would like to see you in Yokohama."

Asked by journalists if a Japan-China summit has been scheduled, Kan said: "It has yet to be decided."

Tokyo's feud with Beijing stems from the September 8 arrest of a Chinese trawler captain whose vessel collided with Japanese patrol boats in waters near a disputed island chain in the East China Sea.

Prosecutors released the captain after Beijing cut political, economic and cultural exchanges and detained four Japanese citizens for video recording in a military area, but the dispute continues to seethe.

Amid the spat, China has been accused of stopping exports of rare-earth minerals crucial for Japan's high-tech industries — an issue Japan has indicated will be discussed by Kan and Obama on the sidelines of the weekend summit of 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

China's increased assertiveness, particularly in the South China Sea, has caused jitters among other neighbouring nations as well as the United States, which is also at odds with China over trade and currency issues.

Washington has voiced support for Japan amid the spat with China, enraging Beijing, as the US and Japan seek to strengthen their 50-year-old security alliance after they had their own row over a US military base.

The China-Japan dispute has stirred nationalistic passions and sparked angry street protests in both countries, and an anti-China demonstration was expected Saturday outside the heavily guarded APEC summit venue.

Japan's Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said Friday he hoped the two leaders could meet, ending the freeze in relations that meant Kan has had only informal chats with China's Premier Wen Jiabao at two other recent summits.

"I hope that they will exchange candid opinions," Maehara told reporters. "China is an important neighbour."

Obama, in comments to Japanese media published Friday, stressed the need for stable ties among the United States, Japan and China, and called on the two Asian giants to resolve the "outstanding differences" between them.

"The United States, China and Japan represent the world's three largest economies and, thus, we all share an interest in promoting security and prosperity with each other and throughout the region," Obama said.

"The United States and our regional allies and partners share a fundamental interest in ensuring security, stability and prosperity in Asia in the 21st century," he said in a written statement to the Yomiuri Shimbun daily.

"The peaceful resolution of outstanding differences and respect for international norms and law are central to these latter goals."

Obama also stressed that "the US-Japan alliance serves as the cornerstone of American strategic engagement in the Asia Pacific" and added: "I am confident that our relationship will flourish over the coming 50 years."

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