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China postpones ceremony on diplomatic ties with Japan

China postponed Sunday a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties with Japan, due to an ongoing territorial dispute, Xinhua news agency said.

“Due to the current situation, the Chinese side has decided that the reception commemorating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations will be postponed until an appropriate time,” Xinhua cited an official as saying.

The unnamed official from the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries was referring to the ongoing row that centres on the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, which are claimed by Beijing under the name Diaoyu.

The ceremony was due to take place on September 27.

Asia’s two largest economies have wrangled about the islands since the 1970s, but the row flared in August after pro-China activists landed on one of them.

Tensions escalated dramatically after the Japanese government subsequently bought three of them from their private owners.

The Chinese friendship association has a close relationship with China’s foreign ministry.

Officials at the ministry refused to immediately confirm the postponement when contacted by AFP.