BEIJING -- A 3,000-member Japanese delegation arrived in China on Friday, an event observers hope will deepen mutual understanding and trust.

The delegation is led by chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's General Council Toshihiro Nikai, according to Li Jinzao, head of the China National Tourism Administration.

The delegation includes the heads of local governments and big enterprises -- a group willing to intense ties with China.

The delegation will be divided into into 80 teams to visit Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei and Liaoning provinces, among others, to attend cultural, tourism and trade events.

Nikai hopes people-to-people exchanges will improve relations between the two countries and further foster tourism interaction.

This was the fifth time Nikai had organized a large cultural exchange tour to China.

"It is a rather high-profile [...] delegation. The event marks an important step forward in pushing the China-Japan relationship toward gradual improvement," said Zhou Yongsheng, professor with the Institute of International Relations under the China Foreign Affairs University.