China, Japan reach landmark agreement to ease tensions over East China Sea dispute

China and Japan have reportedly reached a landmark agreement to ease tensions over disputed islands in the East China Sea.According to the BBC, Beijing officials said a crisis management mechanism had been set up to prevent the situation from worsening.Japanese PM Shinzo Abe hinted at a bilateral meeting between him and Chinese President Xi Jinping next week.He reportedly said that both Japan and China were of the view that reducing tensions would benefit not just the two countries but regional stability if a summit was held.The meeting is expected to take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Beijing on Monday and Tuesday, the report said.