BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry said on Monday it had complained to Japan over “negative” references to China in a statement issued after a meeting between the leaders of Japan and the United States.
The “stern representations” and “strong dissatisfaction” was conveyed by the Department of Asian Affairs Director-General Liu Jinsong to the Japanese embassy in Beijing.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held their first meeting last week in Washington.
According to a joint statement released by the White House, the two leaders expressed views opposing China’s military actions in the South and East China Seas.
They also called for “maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”, and voiced support for “Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.”
Asked about the joint statement, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun accused it of “attacking and discrediting” China and said it was “open interference in China’s internal affairs”. The statement exacerbated regional tensions, he added.
“We urge the United States and Japan to abide by the one-China principle and their own commitments and immediately stop interfering in China’s internal affairs,” Guo said.
China views democratically-ruled Taiwan its own territory, and has staged several rounds of war games around the island in recent years to pressure Taipei.
Taiwan’s government, which strongly objects to Beijing’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future, welcomed the joint Japan-U.S. communique.
“We will remain steadfast in cooperating with the U.S., Japan and other global partners to advance regional peace and prosperity,” President Lai Ching-te said in a post on X.
(Reporting by Colleen Howe, Liz Lee and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Kate Mayberry)
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