Territorial conflicts dog APEC summit

President Hu Jintao told Japanese President Yoshihiko Noda in a private 15-minute meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit Sunday that China would not recognize the move by the Japanese government to acquire the Diaoyu islands, called Senkaku islands by Japan, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Xinhua News Agency. Japanese officials said they fear that China will refuse to compromise over the disputes in the period leading up to its change in leadership this autumn. The two sides had agreed not to disclose the contents of the meeting, and the Japanese officials said that the Xinhua report was intended to focus attention on the conflict. The summit succeeded on one issue, however: Leaders agreed to a longer list of 54 environmental goods, which will have capped 5% tariffs or less by 2015.