BEIJING - Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met with Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of the New Komeito party Friday morning in Beijing.

Yamaguchi, who arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, is the first senior member of the Japanese ruling bloc to travel to China since the Japanese government announced in September the "purchase" of part of the Diaoyu Islands, a move that soured bilateral relations.

The New Komeito party is the smaller one of Japan's two ruling parties.