Japanese business leaders will visit China in January for the first time since 2019 following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with preparations underway for a meeting with President Xi Jinping's leadership, sources familiar with the bilateral relationship have said.
Despite ongoing tensions stemming from various issues, such as the release of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, the business group aims to emphasize the significance of economic cooperation between the two Asian neighbors.
Members of the group will include Masakazu Tokura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, the country's most influential business lobby known as Keidanren, Ken Kobayashi, head of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Kosei Shindo, the chairman of Nippon Steel Corp. who heads the Japan-China Economic Association, the sources said Friday.