Over half of Japan companies want stable economic ties with China: survey

TOKYO, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- A recent survey of major Japanese companies showed more than 50 percent believe the economic ties between Japan and China should remain stable, a Japanese media outlet has reported.

The survey, published on the Sankei Shimbun website on Aug. 11, showed more than 50 percent Japanese companies believe the economic relations between Japan and China should remain stable, while none said they "should keep a greater distance."

September marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. Many Japanese companies said that China is a huge neighboring market that cannot be ignored.

In terms of GDP, China overtook Japan to become the second largest economy in the world and the gap between the two countries is widening, the report said.

When asked about the ideal state of economic relationship between Japan and China, 34.7 percent of respondents said it "should maintain the status quo as the goal", while 6.8 percent replied "should further expand." About 12.7 percent said it should be slightly expanded.

Companies that answered "should further expand" or "should expand slightly" also said "China is deeply integrated into the world economy. It is necessary to develop economic and political relations between Japan and China," according to the survey.

Regarding the question of the desired distance of Japan and China in their economic relations, only 2.5 percent said they should maintain a little distance, while none said they "should keep a greater distance."

The report pointed out that many companies believe that for Japan, China is "the largest trading partner country", and "without China, an economic superpower, it is unrealistic to build foreign economic relations."