Abe to bring 500 Japanese business leaders to Beijing amid US trade spat

Around 500 Japanese business leaders will accompany Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when he visits Beijing this week, amid an ongoing China-US trade feud that is hurting industries on both sides.

A Japanese government official speaking on routine condition of anonymity says Abe's three-day visit starting Thursday will mark a further step in returning bilateral relations to a "normal trajectory" following a 2012 spat over ownership of uninhabited East China Sea islands.

China is Japan's biggest trade partner and that relationship has taken on added importance following President Donald Trump's decision to raise tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods.

Beijing responded with its own tariff hikes on $110 billion of American imports.

The official says North Korea will also be among the issues discussed by the two leaders.