Wen Jiabao, China's premier, on Tuesday rebuffed an invitation to visit Japan from Junichiro Koizumi, the Japanese prime minister, in a sign that relations between east Asia's two biggest economies remain clouded by hostility despite a flurry of recent meetings.
Mr Wen and Mr Koizumi both spoke of the importance of their trading relationship when they met for nearly an hour at the annual gathering of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) in Laos. "Mutual dependence is increasing," Mr Koizumi was quoted as saying by Akira Chiba of the Japanese foreign ministry.
