TOKYO: A group of Japanese business leaders that has met top Chinese politicians regularly over 37 years will cut short this year's trip over safety fears amid a worsening island dispute, an official said Tuesday.
A business delegation of 175 company executives, headed by Toyota Motor chairman Fujio Cho, were set to visit China's Shanxi province, Shanghai and Beijing for a week from September 22.
The group had been set to meet Chinese leaders including Premier Wen Jiabao, but has now decided to shorten the trip.
"We decided to drop visits to Shanxi and Shanghai as Shanxi province officials have told us they can not ensure the safety of the delegation given the current situation," an official at Japan-China Economic Association told AFP.
"We are also considering whether to postpone the visit to Beijing as well, as we have not been given confirmation that a requested meeting with... Wen Jiabao will take place, and we are not sure about the safety of the delegation," he said.
The association has been sending senior Japanese business officials to China since 1975. In the past the delegation has met figures including President Hu Jintao and former president Deng Xiaoping.
A fresh wave of anti-Japan rallies was expected Tuesday, the anniversary of the 1931 "Mukden incident" that led to Japan's invasion of Manchuria, which is commemorated every year in China.
China and Japan have close economic and business ties, with two-way trade totalling $342.9 billion last year, according to Chinese figures.
But the two countries' political relationship is often tense due to the territorial dispute and Chinese resentment over past conflicts and atrocities.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.