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(Adds comments via Vice President of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in China in paragraphs 6 and 7)
By Ryan Woo and Eduardo Baptista
BEIJING, Jan 25 (Reuters) – A delegation of about 200 Japanese business leaders and CEOs returned to China this week for their first stop since 2019 as they sought to establish economic ties in the face of geopolitical headwinds that have strained bilateral relations.
Japanese economic delegations had visited China every year since 1975, but those visits ended around the time of COVID-19, when China largely closed its borders due to its strict pandemic policy.
On Thursday, delegates from the powerful Keidanren, as the Japan Business Federation is known, and Japan-China Economic Association met Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People.
“Premier Li Qiang said China and Japan are recently going through a critical era in which they inherit the hereafter and pave the way for the future,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press conference. normal press.
“We hope that the Japanese economy will exert an active influence on the win-win cooperation between China and Japan. “
Toshihiro Ueda, vice president of the Beijing-based Japan Chamber of Commerce in China, told Reuters that the meeting with Li and other sessions “showed the preference of both sides to identify greater industrial relations. “
“We discussed quite frankly broad topics and shared each other’s views to tackle challenges,” said Ueda, who was part of the talks.
Relations between Japan and China have been strained after the world’s second- and third-largest economies clashed over issues ranging from Japan’s release of treated radioactive water into the ocean to the detention of Japanese citizens suspected of espionage.
Japan’s restrictions on exports of complex chip-making apparatus to China have also fueled Chinese accusations that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is following in the footsteps of the United States in “containing” China’s economic development.
But during a rare meeting between Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping in November, both men agreed their countries ought to pursue mutually beneficial relations.
Japan relies heavily on China, where Japanese corporations have been investing for years in construction production chains and construction relationships with local partners.
China will be Japan’s largest export market, at $145 billion, and its largest source of imports, at $189 billion, in 2022.
But the number of Japanese firms planning to expand in China fell below 30% for the first time according to an annual survey published late last year, with some firms citing concerns about economic uncertainty and others highlighting geopolitical risks.
Last year, China arrested a Japanese executive, an employee of pharmaceutical manufacturer Astellas Pharma, on suspicion of espionage. The move has had a chilling effect on businesses, Japanese officials say.
“All of China’s law enforcement and judicial activities are carried out based on facts and the law,” said the Chinese spokesperson.
“As long as companies operate legally, there is no need to worry. We welcome companies from all countries, including Japanese companies.”
A growing number of Japanese businesses are also grappling with slumping Chinese sales due to rising local competition, China’s uncertain economy and negative Japanese sentiment following the wastewater release from the Fukushima facility.
Japanese automakers from Toyota and Nissan are also battling a fall in market share in China, as they lag local rivals in EV offerings in the world’s biggest auto market. (Reporting by Ryan Woo in Beijing, Miyoung Kim in Singapore and David Dolan in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Eduardo Baptista and Joe Cash in Beijing; Editing by Michael Perry, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Jan Harvey)