‘Hot economics, cold politics’: why China gave nod for expanded Japanese trade trip
Por Alyssa Chen — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement China-Japan relations China Diplomacy ‘Hot economics, cold politics’: why China gave nod for expanded Japanese trade trip
Allowing more executives to visit Beijing shows that China aims to use economic leverage to pressure Tokyo, experts say
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Alyssa Chen Published: 9:00am, 17 Oct 2026 Updated: 9:05am, 17 Oct 2026
Beijing’s decision to allow a bigger Japanese business delegation to go to China next month may be cause for some optimism but “hot economics and cold politics” will continue to dominate the strained relationship between the two countries, observers say.
Kyodo news agency reported this week that Beijing had agreed to allow the Japanese Business Federation – the country’s most influential business lobby, also known as Keidanren – to expand its delegation coming to China next month.
The group will increase from five people to around 20 for a trip that could coincide with this year’s Apec summit in Shenzhen in mid-November. The notice from Beijing came soon after former foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya’s trip to the Chinese capital with a 50-member Japanese trade delegation. Select Voice Select Speed 0.8x 0.9x 1.0x 1.1x 1.2x 1.5x 1.75x 00:00 00:00 1x AI-generated voice
