Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi may have saved face for China, but maybe not for Japan, when he sang the host's praises during his keynote address at the Boao Forum for Asia on Friday.
Koizumi hailed China's economic expansion, brushing off concerns at home that the Chinese economy is a threat, including growing fears that Japanese industries will become "hollowed out" as more and more companies shift production to China.
Koizumi was the only state leader other than Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji and Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to attend the gathering of Asian political and business leaders on the southern island of Hainan.
According to a Japanese government source, Koizumi's participation was partly aimed at "saving China's face" and making the meeting a "full-fledged international conference."