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Updated Monday, September 20, 2010 11:30 am TWN, By Gillian Wong, AP

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China halts ministerial-level contacts with Japan

BEIJING -- China has suspended high-level contacts with Japan over the extended detention of a Chinese fishing boat captain arrested after a collision near disputed islands, state broadcaster CCTV said Sunday.

CCTV said Japan's refusal to release the boat captain has "already caused serious damage to Sino-Japanese bilateral contacts." It said Beijing has suspended ministerial and provincial-level contacts, halted talks on aviation issues and postponed a meeting to discuss coal.

The spat between Tokyo and Beijing was sparked by the seizure of the Chinese captain after his vessel collided with two Japanese coast guard ships on Sept. 7 near islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries. The arrest and his ensuing detention have inflamed ever-present anti-Japanese sentiment in China.

The number of Chinese tourists visiting Japan has plunged because of the dispute, CCTV said. On Friday, a Beijing-based food company announced it would cancel a planned group tour to Japan for 10,000 people to reward employees, their families and business partners.

"The blame for such a situation totally falls on Japan. The Japanese side should immediately and unconditionally release the Chinese captain, or bear all the consequences," CCTV said. China has repeatedly called for his immediate release.

Beijing made the announcements shortly after a Japanese court approved a 10-day extension of captain Zhan Qixiong's detention.

The extension of Zhan's detention came a day after anti-Japanese protests broke out across China on the anniversary of the start of a brutal Japanese invasion in 1931.

Tokyo said on Sunday Beijing had helped restrain protests over the arrest of a Chinese captain for ramming his trawler against Japanese patrol boats near a disputed island chain.

Rallies were staged in Beijing and other Chinese cities on Saturday, marking the highly sensitive anniversary of Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931, to voice anger over the arrest which has sparked a major diplomatic row.

While the protests occurred in several Chinese cities, Japan's new foreign minister, Seiji Maehara, said they were "sporadic" thanks to efforts by China to restrain them.

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