Premiers meet in bid to defuse row

The Chinese and Japanese prime ministers held an impromptu meeting in a hallway at a conference in Europe, in the highest-level contact between the countries since a bitter territorial dispute erupted a month ago, both governments confirmed Tuesday.

Relations between the Asian neighbours - the world's second- and third-biggest economies - have been strained since a Chinese fishing boat collided with Japanese patrol vessels in early September near the islands in the East China Sea that are claimed by both countries as well as Taiwan.