President Xi Jinping told Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that Asia's two largest economies should reaffirm their strategic relationship in their first face-to-face talks in a year.

The remarks, reported by state media, came at the start of talks on the sidelines of the Apec summit in San Francisco on Thursday evening.

The two leaders are also expected to discuss the creation of a new dialogue framework on export control issues and fostering a safe business environment, Japanese media reported.

The countries should "focus on common interests and properly handle differences," Xi told Kishida as they sat across from one another at a table flanked by their delegations.

China and Japan should reaffirm their "strategic relationship of mutual benefit and give it new meaning", he added.

Kishida told Xi: "Japan and China coexist and prosper as neighbours and have a responsibility to contribute to world peace and prosperity."

Relations between the neighbours have been upset most recently by Tokyo's decision to release treated water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea in August, prompting China to ban Japanese seafood.

The meeting follows a highly-anticipated summit between US President Joe Biden and Xi on Wednesday in which the two superpowers agreed to open a presidential hotline and resume military-to-military communications, among other matters. (Reuters)