Tokyo Report | Diplomacy | East Asia

China Reopens a Business Channel to Japan While Political Ties Remain Frozen

A Japanese trade group’s Beijing visit, led by an LDP MP, signals a possible thaw in China-Japan relations. 

For the first time since China-Japan relations entered a diplomatic freeze last autumn, a lawmaker from Japan’s ruling party has held formal talks with a senior Chinese government official, offering a tentative sign that Beijing may be seeking to preserve economic dialogue even while political tensions remain unresolved.

Hashimoto Gaku, acting chairman of the Japan Association for the Promotion of International Trade (JAPIT) and a Liberal Democratic Party member of the House of Representatives who previously served as vice minister of health, labor and welfare, met Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Hua Chunying at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on June 22 for roughly an hour. Speaking to reporters the following day, he described the encounter as “a major achievement” that had opened “a thread of exchange” between the two countries.

The meeting did not produce any tangible breakthroughs. Yet at a time when official and even semi-official contacts have become increasingly rare, both sides appeared eager to signal that dialogue itself retains value. Hashimoto said the talks confirmed a shared willingness to work toward improving relations, even if major disagreements remain unresolved.

The freeze dates to November 2025, when Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae addressed hypothetical Taiwan contingency scenarios during Diet testimony. Beijing reacted sharply and moved systematically to curtail bilateral exchanges, restricting travel to Japan, suspending Japanese artists’ performances in China, and tightening export controls on rare earth elements critical to Japan’s high-technology industries. Bilateral visits, whether between governments or not, largely dried up.

JAPIT – one of seven Japanese friendship organizations that serve as semi-official conduits for people-to-people and economic exchange – had been planning a flagship visit. Former House of Representatives Speaker Kono Yohei, the association’s longtime chairman and father of former Foreign Minister and Defense Minister Kono Taro, was scheduled to have led a roughly 50-member delegation, with high-level meetings on the agenda. Last year’s delegation had been received by Premier Li Qiang, underscoring the importance Beijing attached to the channel.

Kono died on June 8, prompting postponement of the full visit. It was in that context – grief, disrupted plans, but a residual institutional commitment – that Hashimoto and three other executives traveled to Beijing, primarily to attend the China International Supply Chain Expo.

Kono’s death leaves JAPIT without one of its most effective and trusted interlocutors in Beijing. His stature gave the organization diplomatic weight that extended well beyond its formal mandate of promoting economic exchange. Hashimoto’s own family has deep roots in the group – his late father, former Prime Minister Hashimoto Ryutaro, also served as chairman – but rebuilding that level of personal trust with Chinese counterparts will take time.

The meeting between Hashimoto and China’s vice foreign minister covered familiar but nonetheless significant ground. Hua opened with condolences for Kono’s passing, acknowledged his contributions to bilateral relations, and then reiterated Beijing’s “consistent position” on Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks – diplomatic shorthand for objections to what China portrays as Japanese encouragement of Taiwan independence and acceleration of its defense buildup.

Hashimoto pushed back, telling Hua that Japan was not seeking to become “a military state,” and emphasized the importance of face-to-face dialogue. Hua, for her part, said Beijing would welcome........

© The Diplomat