BEIJING - China's major banks confirmed with Xinhua Monday that they will not attend the International Monetary Fund-World Bank meeting that opens Tuesday in Tokyo.

The banks include the country's four state-owned banks -- the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agriculture Bank of China. The ICBC is the world's largest lender by market value.

The banks' decision was made after bilateral relations between China and Japan became strained, after the Japanese government announced its decision to "purchase" the Diaoyu Islands on September 10, analysts said.

Japan's move fueled anti-Japan protests in dozens of Chinese cities last month and has taken its toll on bilateral trade and economic ties.

The banks' decision is further evidence that the unilateral actions by Japan is freezing bilateral relations and now starting to weigh on the world's economy, said Mei Xinyu, a researcher at the International Trade and Economic Cooperation Institution under China's Ministry of Commerce.

The ties between the world's second- and third-largest economies will definitely undermine the global economic operation and policy coordinations. This is because the two nations together make up about one fifth of the world's economic output, Mei said.