Keidanren postpones its mid-November China delegation at Beijing's request, citing large-scale events.
Japan's Keidanren business federation said on 26 October that a small delegation due to visit China in mid-November has been postponed, with no new date set. Nikkei said the delay was requested by the Chinese side, which cited the need to handle related large-scale events; Yonhap said this appeared to refer to events including the APEC leaders' meeting in Shenzhen in mid-November. The roughly 20-member group of member-company staff and Keidanren officials had planned to visit Jiangsu and other areas to view advanced technology and meet local business groups. Lianhe Zaobao, citing Kyodo, said China had earlier expanded the number of delegates it would host, which had been seen as a possible step towards resuming substantive economic exchanges; government-level dialogue has stalled since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Taiwan contingency remarks in parliament last November. Keidanren is still discussing a March visit to Beijing led by the heads of three business groups. No public Chinese response had been seen as of publication.
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