TOKYO - Prime Minister Taro Aso is expected to hold his first summit with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Oct 23 in Beijing on the sidelines of the summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting, sources close to the matter said. Aso also plans to meet separately with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during his China visit.

Aso seeks to strengthen mutually beneficial strategic relations with China in his talks with the Chinese leaders, the sources said. He also plans to exchange views on such bilateral issues as the case of tainted Chinese-made dumplings that made several consumers in Japan ill and the gas field joint development project in a disputed area in the East China Sea, they said.