What makes you say this? Struggling to see similarities between MN and Japan....

Japan at least has tourism promotion and ad campaigns. In either May or June landing at NRT there was an Intenational Milk Day and Hokkaido promotion booth as you left Customs. And I got free milk! Can anyone remember the last time they saw an ad campaign for overseas tourists to go to China?

I think for many countries international travel is not just for the economic benefits but also represents connection to the rest of the world, being integrated into the world fabric. That's just not where "Beijing" is at the moment.