BEIJING — China’s escalating dispute with Japan reinforces Beijing’s growing economic influence — and penchant for abrupt actions that can create uncertainty for businesses.
Hours before Japanese jazz quintet The Blend was due to perform in Beijing on Thursday, a plainclothesman walked into the DDC music club during a sound check.
Then, “the owner of the live house came to me and said: ‘The police has told me tonight is canceled. No discussion,’” said Christian Petersen-Clausen, a music agent who has organized more than 70 concerts in China over the last 12 months.
“Everything Japanese is canceled now,” he said. He added that he’d spent six months getting Chinese censors’ approval to allow The Blend to perform in the country.
DDC announced Thursday afternoon that the evening’s concert was canceled due to force majeure and that ticket holders would be automatically refunded in the coming days.
