China escalated its retaliation against Japan, suspending imports of Japanese seafood and halting approvals for new films — the latest signs that their diplomatic spat is far from over.

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Chinese travelers have canceled more than half a million plane tickets to Japan since Saturday. Chinese students there have been told to be careful. Two Japanese films have been pulled from the Chinese box office.

Within days of China urging its citizens not to travel to Japan due to a diplomatic dispute, Tokyo-based tour operator East Japan International Travel Service had lost 80% of its bookings for the remainder of the year.

Tokyo aims to calm diplomatic row triggered by remarks on island by Japanese Premier Sanae Takaichi - Anadolu Ajansı

China has intensified its economic pressure on Japan, with state-owned enterprises banning employees from travelling to its Asian neighbour, tour groups and a flagship forum being cancelled and Japanese film releases suspended.

An opening attempt to cool tensions between China and Japan appears to have fallen flat, signaling that the diplomatic spat is likely to drag on and stoking concerns about further strain in economic ties.