Why did an Okinawan delegation visit a Beijing cemetery amid China-Japan tensions?

Members of a delegation from the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa paid tribute to their ancestors at the historic Ryukyu Kingdom cemetery in Beijing, highlighting a legacy of ties that China is increasingly leveraging as a counterweight in its frictions with Tokyo.
During the visit in June – first made public by the Global Times on Sunday – about a dozen delegates travelled to the site southeast of Beijing, which honours six centuries of ties between China and the former island nation later...