A group of Japanese business leaders on Friday concluded a six-day visit to China after inspecting companies in Changsha, Hunan Province, with some members expressing disappointment over not meeting a top Chinese leader during the trip.

About 200 members of the delegation led by Masakazu Tokura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, known as Keidanren, and other officials had hoped to meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, as was the case the previous year, but instead met with Vice Premier He Lifeng.

Li is China's No. 2 leader after President Xi Jinping in the ruling Communist Party's top decision-making body, the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, while He is one of 24 members of the Politburo.

Speculation is rife that Li's absence was a response to China's protest over Tokyo's "negative" stances regarding Beijing during Feb. 7 talks between Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington.

During their first summit, Ishiba and Trump affirmed the importance of "peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait" and confirmed that Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. security treaty applies to the Tokyo-controlled, Beijing-claimed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

Nevertheless, Kosei Shindo, head of the Japan-China Economic Association, told reporters that the business mission confirmed with Beijing they will "proactively tackle challenges" between the two countries "amid significant changes in the global environment."

Earlier this week, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao urged Japanese business leaders to "join hands" with Beijing, as the world's second-largest economy remains engaged in a tariff war with the United States following Trump's return to the White House last month.

Members of the Japanese mission urged Beijing to lift export curbs on rare metal-related items, imposed earlier this month in response to the U.S. imposition of a new 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports. They also called for a level playing field for foreign companies operating in China.

A Japanese government source said it is important for Tokyo to try to secure its national interests by "striking a balance" between the world's two largest economies because "stronger Japan-U.S. unity could displease China."

An economic mission organized by Keidanren, Japan's largest business lobby, and other groups has visited China nearly every year since 1975. Over the past 50 years, China's gross domestic product has surpassed Japan's and grown to more than four times its size.

Premier Li met with the delegation during the last visit in January 2024. It was the first such trip since September 2019, following a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.