TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an Asia-Africa summit in Indonesia, a Japanese government official said.

The talks would be the latest sign of a thaw in relations between the world's second and third biggest economies.

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 Mr Abe and Mr Xi met at a summit in Beijing late last year.