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Japanese automakers prominent at major industry show

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Some Chinese customers want to buy Japanese cars despite

diplomatic row

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China remains important market, production hub for

Japanese

automakers

By David Kirton and Josh Arslan

GUANGZHOU, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Car enthusiasts browsing

Japanese brands at one of China's biggest annual auto shows

shrugged off diplomatic tensions between the two countries on

Saturday, saying quality and value for money still trump

politics when choosing a vehicle.

"Economics is economics, politics is politics, and the two

shouldn't be mixed," said Wang, 42, who works in R&D for a major

tech company as he looked over Honda ( HMC ) hatchbacks at the Guangzhou

International Auto Show. He declined to give his full name.

Japanese vehicles were prominent among the dozens of

domestic and foreign automakers, where hundreds flocked to

Honda's ( HMC ) display to watch choreographed dances to techno

music.

China's ties with Japan have deteriorated markedly after

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said any Chinese attack

on Taiwan threatening Japan's survival could trigger a military

response from Tokyo.

The dispute has spilled into the commercial realm: concerts by

Japanese musicians in China have been abruptly cancelled, and

Beijing has warned its citizens against travelling to Japan.

Li, a 30-year-old visitor at the auto show, said he expected

some backlash against Japanese goods, recalling incidents a

decade ago when Japanese cars were vandalised during previous

diplomatic flare-ups. All the Chinese visitors Reuters spoke to

declined to give their full names.

"Even if there is such propaganda, people will judge in

their hearts what is good and bad," he said, adding that in

today's globalised market many Japanese brands were deeply

integrated with Chinese partners.

At the show, the Nissan ( NSANF ) booth prominently

advertised Huawei car-audio systems, while Honda ( HMC ) showcased a

robot co-branded with China's Hikrobot.

"Globally, no one can survive without anyone else, right?

You can't separate," Li said.

China's commerce ministry said trade ties with Japan had been

"severely damaged" by Takaichi's comments and urged her to

retract them. Japanese officials say that is not possible,

adding her remarks do not alter Tokyo's long-standing position

on Taiwan and that any shift would be political suicide.

That leaves Japanese firms bracing for a prolonged period of

chill.

While China's share of Japanese automakers' global sales has

fallen amid fierce competition from domestic electric-vehicle

makers, the world's second-largest economy still accounts for a

major portion of their output and remains an important

production hub.

"China is a big market for automobiles, and we are in a

position in the government to support Japanese automakers, so

hurray!" Japan's Consul General in Guangzhou, Yoshiko Kijima,

said after visiting Nissan's ( NSANF ) stand on Friday.

"It's also my duty to warn Japanese nationals to be

careful," she added, when asked about security concerns.

Xu, a 27-year-old from nearby Foshan, said he couldn't

afford the Mazda ( MZDAF ) models he was examining and felt

Chinese brands had caught up in technology, but he still felt

drawn to look at Japanese cars.

"Guangdong people like Japanese cars because of the

influence from Hong Kong and Taiwanese films and TV dramas. They

give off a high-end feeling," he said.

(Reporting by David Kirton and Josh Arslan in Guangzhou;

Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)