Japanese Business Delegations Plan China Visits Amid Political Tensions

Dragon Media News Desk

Major Japanese economic and business organisations are preparing to send delegations to China at a time when political and diplomatic relations between the two countries remain strained. Japan’s private sector has emphasised the need to maintain dialogue and commercial engagement, given the importance of the vast Chinese market and the deep economic interdependence between the two countries.

Masayoshi Matsumoto, chairperson of the Kansai Economic Federation, said the organisation is arranging a business delegation visit to Beijing and other Chinese cities from October 18 to 23.

The proposed delegation is expected to include around 80 members, including senior representatives from the Kansai Association of Corporate Executives, the Kyoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Kobe Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The delegation plans to hold discussions with Chinese government departments and other relevant organisations in Beijing. It also intends to visit Xi’an, the historic and industrial city in Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province.

According to the Kansai Economic Federation, the purpose of the visit is to reaffirm the strong relationship between the Kansai business community and China and create opportunities for the further development of bilateral ties. However, the proposed visit is still awaiting final confirmation from the Chinese side.

Meanwhile, the Japan-China Trade Promotion Association, which serves as an important channel for economic exchanges between the two countries, is reportedly preparing to send another delegation to China in late September.

The preparations indicate that although official political dialogue between China and Japan has weakened, the Japanese private sector does not want economic communication and commercial engagement with China to be completely disrupted.

Relations between China and Japan have become increasingly tense since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made remarks concerning Taiwan in November 2025. China maintains that the remarks undermined the political foundation of bilateral relations and negatively affected economic, trade and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

According to Osamu Onodera, chief representative for China and Northeast Asia at the Japan External Trade Organization, approximately 36,000 Japanese companies currently operate in China.

Onodera described China as an irreplaceable global business hub for Japanese companies. Citing JETRO’s annual surveys, he said 85 percent of Japanese companies operating in China planned either to maintain or expand their businesses, indicating that their long-term commitment to the Chinese market remained largely unchanged despite political tensions.

He said major Japanese business organisations had reached a consensus that exchanges with China should continue even under the current difficult circumstances.

China and Japan are not only among the world’s largest economies but also important trading partners. The Chinese market is highly significant for Japanese manufacturing companies, automobile producers, electronics firms, machinery manufacturers, financial institutions, service providers and regional supply chains.

For China, cooperation with Japanese technology, investment, industrial expertise and regional production networks also remains important.

Because of this deep economic interdependence, political tensions have a direct impact on the business communities of both countries. When official dialogue becomes limited, new investment decisions, commercial visits, cultural exchanges, tourism and people-to-people contacts may also be affected.

Lü Chao, dean of the Institute of US and East Asian Studies at Liaoning University, said Japanese economic organisations’ interest in visiting China demonstrated their recognition of the importance of the Chinese market and bilateral economic cooperation.

However, he stressed that simply organising visits would not be sufficient. The Japanese side must demonstrate genuine willingness to address the fundamental causes behind the deterioration of bilateral relations.

According to Lü, political mutual trust is an essential foundation for economic cooperation. He argued that treating China as an opponent at the political level while seeking to benefit from the Chinese market at the commercial level would not be sustainable over the long term.

He said China-Japan economic and trade cooperation still had a strong practical foundation, but stable political conditions, mutual respect and responsible conduct on sensitive issues were necessary for such cooperation to develop.

China’s Foreign Ministry said on June 25 that the country remained committed to expanding high-standard opening-up and creating a market-oriented, law-based and internationalised business environment.

Responding to reports that representatives of the Japanese business community had been visiting China one after another, a ministry spokesperson said China was willing to expand mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation with all countries and share the opportunities generated by its development.

The spokesperson reiterated China’s position that Prime Minister Takaichi’s remarks concerning Taiwan had seriously damaged the political foundation of China-Japan relations and negatively affected bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed hope that the Japanese business community, acting in its own interests, would encourage the Japanese government to seriously reflect on and correct its mistakes and create conditions for bilateral economic and trade cooperation to return to a path of sound development.

The proposed visits by Japanese business delegations indicate that opportunities remain for reviving economic relations despite continuing political disagreements. However, discussions limited to commercial agreements or market access may not be sufficient to produce substantial results.

Restoring China-Japan economic relations to a normal and stable path will require the resumption of political dialogue, restraint on sensitive issues, mutual respect and a stable and predictable environment for businesses.

The continued interest of Japanese companies in the Chinese market illustrates a clear gap between economic realities and political tensions. As the private sector signals its preference for cooperation and stability, Japan’s willingness to use this momentum as an opportunity to improve political relations could help determine the future direction of China-Japan ties.