The United States on Wednesday welcomed a meeting between the Japanese and Chinese leaders in Jakarta, saying close relations between them will contribute to peace and prosperity in the world.

"We welcomed the meeting" between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Marie Harf, a State Department spokeswoman, told reporters.

Relations between the second- and third-largest economies in the world "affect the peace and prosperity of not just the (Asia-Pacific) region but the rest of the world," (Kyodo) news agency quoted Harf as saying.

Abe held talks with Chinese President on the sidelines of the Asian-African Conference in Indonesia on Wednesday. The two sides agreed to work towards strengthening bilateral relations to support regional peace and stability.

Japanese Prime Minister told reporters after the meeting that the bilateral relations between Tokyo and Beijing are improving, and that he wants to continue the dialogue with the Chinese leader.

The meeting, the first between the two leaders in five months, came at a time the two countries are working to promote the language of dialogue amid deterioration in bilateral relations against the backdrop of a disputed regional issues and concepts related to the history of World War II.