Now for a look at China-Japan economic and tourism ties. While meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July, Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out that economic and trade cooperation is a booster for bilateral relations, adding that both sides should boost practical cooperation.

 

Official data shows that China recorded 166-point-9 billion US dollars worth of trade with Japan in the first seven months of this year. That represents a 10-point-8 percent increase year on year and accounted for 7-point-4 percent of China's total foreign trade for the period.  The General Administration of Customs said that exports to Japan totaled 76-point-5 billion US dollars, up 6-point-2 percent year on year. Imports from Japan came in at 90-point-5 billion US dollars, up 15-point-1 percent year on year.  

 

Meanwhile, Japan's National Tourism Organization said China was the number one source of tourists for Japan in 2016. A record 6-point-4 million Chinese visited the country last year, up 28 percent year on year.  The N-T-O also said that the number of Chinese visitors to Japan rose 6-point-7 percent to 3-point-3 million in the first half of this year.

 

Analysts say that the growth speed marked a slow down compared to the 20 percent increase during the past two years.  However, as China's National Day holiday approaches, travel agencies predict that more than 6 million Chinese tourists will travel abroad. Japan will be the second most popular destination for Chinese visitors during the holiday, just behind Thailand.