President Xi Jinping told Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in their first meeting that China hoped Japan would "properly handle" major issues such as history and Taiwan, according to state media on Saturday.

Xi called for the two Asian neighbours to safeguard the global free trade system, as well as stable and unimpeded production and supply chains, as they met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum summit in Lima, Peru.

He stressed that China is ready to work with Japan "in accordance with the principles and directions set out in the four political documents" between the two countries, and adhere to the important consensus that they are "cooperative partners rather than threats to each other", Xinhua reported.

China and Japan are close neighbours and important countries in Asia and the world, Xi said, adding that bilateral relations bears significance beyond bilateral dimension.

Ishiba told Xi that Japan's position on the Taiwan question, based on the Japan-China joint communique in 1972, remains unchanged.

The Japanese prime minister also said he wanted to build a "constructive and stable" relationship, and that Tokyo has no intention of decoupling from China.

Separately, Xi and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held a summit for the first time in two years on the sidelines of Apec.

Xi told Yoon that "the international and regional situations have undergone many changes" over the past two years, according to Xinhua.

"No matter how the situation changes, China and South Korea should stick to the original intention in establishing diplomatic ties, firmly adhere to the direction of good-neighbourliness and friendship, and remain committed to the goal of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation," Xi said.

Yoon told his Chinese counterpart that their two countries should cooperate for peace in the face of North Korea and Russia's military cooperation, according to the South Korean President's office.

Yoon expressed his hope that "South Korea and China will cooperate in promoting stability and peace in the region in response to North Korea's successive provocations, the war in Ukraine, and Russia-North Korea military cooperation", his office said.

Yoon also called for the two countries to further strengthen cooperation in the economic sector, which he called "the central axis of bilateral relations over the past 30 years", Yoon's office said. (Agencies)