(Dec 31): A prominent group of Japanese executives has put its planned visit to Beijing on hold, a sign that a diplomatic feud is chilling commercial ties between Asia’s two largest economies.
The delegation of some 200 business leaders will skip the trip originally scheduled Jan. 20, the Japan-China Economic Association said on Wednesday. The organisation cited challenges in securing meetings with Chinese officials and said no rescheduled date has been decided.
The move marks the first time in more than 13 years that a political stand-off has disrupted the annual mission to promote economic exchange, signalling Beijing’s continued frustration with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan.
“Under the current state of Japan-China relations, we have made sustained efforts to make this delegation a reality,” the association and organiser said in a statement. “However, we have found it difficult to secure sufficient exchanges with Chinese government agencies, including meetings with national leaders.”
The trip has happened every year since 1975 except during the pandemic and 2012, when relations hit a low due to a diplomatic crisis over disputed islands in the East China Sea. That visit was postponed but eventually took place the next year.
Asked about the shelved trip, the Chinese Foreign Ministry repeated Beijing’s condemnation of Takaichi’s “erroneous” remarks. In a regular press briefing, spokesman Lin Jian urged Tokyo to retract the comments to “create the necessary conditions for normal exchanges between China and Japan”.
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The group was set to include top executives from Mitsubishi Corp and Panasonic Holdings, as well as representatives from Japan’s biggest business lobbies, Keidanren and the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
They had sought to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, according to a draft itinerary. Li met the group in 2024 and Vice Premier He Lifeng hosted them in early 2025.
Ties between Beijing and Tokyo soured in early November, when Takaichi said that Japan could classify a Chinese invasion of Taiwan as a “survival-threatening situation”, a legal justification for Japan to deploy its military. Beijing claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and views issues relating to the democratic island an internal matter.
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China has repeatedly demanded a retraction, but Takaichi has maintained that Japan’s policy on Taiwan remains unchanged and her comments do not need recanting. In retaliation, Beijing unleashed a wave of punitive measures such as curbing imports of Japanese seafoods and films.
China also discouraged residents from visiting its neighbour, slowing the growth in travellers to the weakest pace in nearly four years.
China is Japan’s biggest trading partner, with imports and exports between the two neighbours accounting for around 20% of the total in 2024, according to Japanese customs data. While China hasn’t leveraged some crucial exports such as rare earths in the dispute, long-term economic retaliation from China could still hurt Japan’s economy.
Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee
