China criticized Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for meeting with Taiwan officials on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and her subsequent social media posts about the discussions.
¡°Those actions are egregious in nature and impact,¡± China¡¯s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a Saturday statement on its website. ¡°China expresses its firm opposition and has made serious demarches and protests to Japan.¡±
Takaichi met Lin Hsin-i, Taiwan¡¯s presidential adviser, on Friday and Saturday, according to X posts by the Japanese prime minister. The post said that it will look forward to deepening cooperation between Japan and Taiwan.
The Chinese ministry expressed concern that Takaichi had ¡°deliberately met with¡± the Taiwan region and ¡°hyped it on social media.¡±
China¡¯s comments follow the first formal meeting between the Japanese prime minister and President Xi Jinping on Friday on the sidelines of the APEC summit.
China is Japan¡¯s largest trading partner, while the U.S. provides Tokyo with crucial security guarantees, which forces Japan into an awkward balancing act between the two superpowers.
A number of other issues continue to test ties between Beijing and Tokyo, including China¡¯s increasing military activity around a disputed cluster of islands, trade restrictions, and concerns over maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
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