Toyota chairman Fujio Cho cancelled his trip to China yesterday after his personal jet failed to get permission from China's civil aviation authority to land in Beijing, Kyodo News reported.

Cho, the chairman of the Japan-China Economic Association (JCEA), had planned to attend a meeting with Chinese government officials in Beijing on Sept. 27 on behalf of the JCEA.

He missed the meeting after Beijing denied landing permission for his personal jet, which was scheduled to take off from Japan's Aichi Airport at 10 am yesterday and was forced to wait on the Airport runway for four hours before the news of denial came.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kyodo News reported that the chairmen of seven Japan-China friendship organizations including the JCEA were scheduled to visit China starting on Sept. 26 and hold talks with Chinese officials on Sept. 27.

The move has been interpreted as a sign that Japan intends to ease the tensions with China over the Diaoyu Islands through the continuation of economic exchange.

Cho's unexpected cancellation comes as Toyota's auto sales in China are in decline. Japanese automakers have cut output in their Chinese factories, despite the fact that Chinese market sales account for 10-20 percent of global sales for Japan's top three car makers. On Sept. 26, Toyota closed its factories in Tianjin and Guangzhou, well in advance of upcoming October holiday.

"It is regrettable that we had to cancel the whole trip to China," Cho said. Japan's economic voice will be conveyed to Chinese government through the chairman of Japan Business Federation, he said.

According to Merrill Lynch Nippon Securities, Toyota's business in China accounted for 21 percent of its expected net profits for the 2012 fiscal year, a proportion second only to rival Nissan.