LIMA (Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday he and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to foster "mutually beneficial" and "stable" relations in their first in-person talks.

Following the meeting in Lima, held on the sidelines of this year's summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, Ishiba told reporters that he also raised concerns about China's increasingly aggressive military maneuvers near Japan.

"There are many differences of opinion between Japan and China. But despite these differences, I agreed with President Xi to continue to have more meetings," Ishiba said.

In the wake of the stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy in September in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, Ishiba said he urged Xi to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens. The Chinese leader promised to do so for "all foreigners."

Despite long-running tensions over wartime history, territory and many other issues, the Japanese and Chinese governments have recognized that reducing tensions would serve their "common strategic interests."

As he did with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Laos in October, Ishiba confirmed with Xi the policy direction that has served as the foundation of the bilateral relationship since it was agreed on by Tokyo and Beijing in 2008.

Xi said China is ready to cooperate with Japan to build a "constructive and stable relationship," while noting that the two countries' relationship bears "significance beyond bilateral dimension," according to China's state-run news agency Xinhua.

The sit-down between Ishiba and Xi took place as the incoming U.S. administration of President-elect Donald Trump is poised to take a much harder line against China, which has a track record of seeking closer ties with other countries including Japan under such circumstances.

Trump, who decisively won the Nov. 5 presidential election, is quickly filling senior positions in his second administration with those considered to be fervent loyalists and prominent hawks on China.

Meanwhile, Ishiba's grip on power is not solid. Earlier this week, he was reelected by parliament as Japan's prime minister following a general election setback that saw his ruling party and junior coalition partner lose their majority in the House of Representatives.

Ishiba called the snap election after he was narrowly chosen to lead the Liberal Democratic Party and took office as prime minister on Oct. 1.

During his meeting with Xi, Ishiba also asked China to remain committed to its promise to resume imports of seafood from Japan.

In September, China said it would "gradually" restart Japanese seafood imports after imposing a blanket ban about a year ago over the release of treated radioactive water into the ocean from the disabled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Prior to the ban, China was the biggest importer of Japanese seafood.