BEIJING, Jan 25 Reuters An unusually large delegation of about 200 Japanese business leaders arrived in China this week to bolster economic relations in the first such visit in more than four years and in the face of geopolitical headwinds that have strained bilateral ties.

Japanese economic delegations had visited China every year since 1975, but those visits lapsed during the COVID19 era when China largely shuttered its borders due to its stringent pandemic policies.

During their visit this week, the Japanese business delegates, which included Masakazu Tokura, chairman of the powerful Keidanren, as the Japan Business Federation is known, are due to meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday.

Ties between Japan and China have become strained after the world39;s second and thirdlargest economies clashed over issues from Japan39;s release of treated radioactive water into the ocean to detention of Japanese citizens on suspicion of espionage.

Japan39;s curbs on export of advanced chipmaking equipment to China have also fanned Chinese accusations that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida39;s government was following in the United States39; footsteps in containing China39;s economic development.

But during a rare meeting between Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping in November, both men agreed their countries ought to pursue mutually beneficial relations.

China39;s top diplomat, Wang Yi, has since said the two sides should first establish a correct mutual…