Japan government spokesman hopes PM Abe will meet China's Xi

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's chief government spokesman said on Wednesday he hoped Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese leader Xi Jinping would meet later in the day on the sidelines of an Asia-Africa summit in Indonesia, but details of the encounter had yet to be decided. Sino-Japanese ties have chilled in recent years due to feuds over the two neighbours' wartime past as well as territorial rows and regional rivalry. A meeting between the two leaders could promote a cautious rapprochement that began when Abe and Xi met at a summit in Beijing late last year. (This story corrects the headline and first paragraph to hopes, not expects) (Reporting by Kaori Kaneko)