TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) - About one out of every four Japanese company employees feels the nation should cut back on business links with China, while around 60 per cent believe the status quo should remain, the Nikkei said, citing its own survey.

In a poll of about 1,000 Japanese company employees and executives in charge of China business relations, 23.9 per cent said businesses should reduce the size of their operations related to China, while 60.4 per cent wanted current ties maintained and the situation monitored, the newspaper reported on Saturday (Oct 5).

Some 7.4 per cent of respondents said they believed links with China should be expanded, according to the survey.

The survey results show that business people believe a prolonged trade dispute between the US and China could disrupt the manufacturing supply chain Japan has built by causing a decoupling of the countries' economies, the Nikkei said.