Islands dispute hurts investment, trade with Japan

The territorial dispute over the Diaoyu Islands has hurt Japanese investment in China and bilateral trade between the countries, according to central government commerce authorities.

In September, Japanese investment in China and bilateral trade saw a slowdown, which Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang described at a briefing on Friday as "to some degree" related to the Japanese government's "purchase" of the disputed islands.

But "as long as Japan corrects its wrongdoings, there is actually great room for the long-term development of Sino-Japanese economic and trade relations," and China believes that bilateral trade should enjoy a healthy future, the spokesman said.