A Toyota workshop in Guangzhou [file photo]

Japan's Fast Retailing said it will close 19 Uniqlo outlets in China on Tuesday, up from seven on Monday. One store will be operating on shortened hours on Tuesday, against nine on Monday.

Japan's leading general retailer, Seven & I Holdings, will close 13 Ito Yokado supermarkets and 198 "7-Eleven" convenience stores in China, a company spokesman said on Monday.

The company had already closed its 40 stores in Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan province, as of Monday after operations were disrupted.

In Beijing, some of the convenience stores concealed their logo by hanging up banners of patriotic Chinese slogans.

Cheng Ning, director of public affairs of Beijing Huatang Ito Yokado Ltd, told China Daily eight stores in Beijing will halt operations before resuming business on Sept 19, on orders from their headquarters in Japan to ensure the safety of customers, employees and property in China.

Some of the Ito Yokado stores in Beijing have already adopted a practice of closing two hours ahead of published schedules.

Washington cannot shake off its responsibility for sowing the seeds of conflict, since provocations by its allies against China have been emboldened by the US "Pivot to Asia" policy, Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary.