Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met with his Japanese counterpart Katsuya Okada in Shanghai Monday.

This is the first official meeting between the two diplomats since Okada took office earlier this month.

Two hours later they are expected to attend a trilateral foreign ministers' meeting of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) in the Chinese economic hub.

At the beginning of the talks, Yang hailed the meeting between Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in New York last week, saying it will eject new impetus into the mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests.

The trilateral meeting is expected to review the cooperation between the three states, explore future cooperation, pave way for the Oct. 10 meeting between leaders of the three countries and discuss major regional and international issues.

(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2009)