China criticized Japan’s 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 Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 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 premier and President Xi Jinping on Friday on the sidelines of the APEC summit.
China is Japan’s largest trading partner, while the US 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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