appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Laura Zhou

Top-level talks between Chinese and Japanese diplomats ended without consensus on Tuesday, dimming hopes for an end to a row over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on the Taiwan Strait.
According to the Chinese foreign ministry, Asian affairs department chief Liu Jinsong told his Japanese counterpart, Masaaki Kanai, that Takaichi must retract her suggestion from earlier this month that a crisis in the strait would allow Tokyo to deploy its self-defence forces.
“[The comments] fundamentally damage the political foundation of China-Japan relations, and are extremely egregious in nature and impact,” ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
“The Chinese side solemnly urges the Japanese side to retract its erroneous remarks, cease making trouble on China-related issues, take concrete action to correct its mistakes, and uphold the political foundation of China-Japan relations.”
Asked how he felt about the talks, Liu said he was “very unsatisfied”, according to Chinese media.
Kanai, head of the Japanese foreign ministry’s Asia and Oceania bureau, flew to Beijing on Monday after Chinese authorities hit back over Takaichi’s comments with a series of protests and travel and student alerts.
Responding to the travel warnings, Kanai “strongly” urged the Chinese side to take appropriate measures, saying Japan’s security situation had not deteriorated.
He also asked Beijing to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens in China, according to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.


The Chinese action came after Takaichi told Japan’s parliament that an armed attack against Taiwan could be seen as a potential “survival-threatening situation” that would allow Japan to deploy its military forces.
Tokyo later said Takaichi’s remarks were “hypothetical” and Japan’s position regarding the self-ruled island had not changed from that stated in the Japan-China Joint Communique of 1972.
But Beijing sees the comments as meddling in China’s internal affairs and is concerned that they could mark a departure from Tokyo’s strategic ambiguity on how Japan – a US treaty ally – could react in a conflict over Taiwan.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States and Japan, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.


Chinese state media has linked Takaichi’s remarks with Japan’s invasion of China and accused her of trying to remilitarise Japan, which has had a pacifist constitution since the end of World War II.
Mao, from the Chinese foreign ministry, said the post-war international order should not be changed.
“The lessons of history must never be forgotten, distorted, or erased,” Mao said.
“Eighty years on, we will never allow the resurgence of Japanese militarism, we will never allow anyone to challenge the post-war international order, and we will never allow the peace and stability of our world to be undermined again.”
In New York on Monday, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary general of the United Nations, called for talks between the two countries to resolve the issue.
“What we would like to see is a lowering of the tensions between these two very important countries in the region and the resumption of dialogue to defuse the current tensions,” he said.
But there was little sign of an easing with a tit-for-tat exchange this week over patrols on Sunday by the China Coast Guard near the disputed Diaoyu Islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan.
Tokyo lodged a stern protest over the patrols while Mao said Beijing refused to accept the “unreasonable representation” and lodged a counter-representation of its own.
“China urged the Japanese side … not to take any measures that could escalate tensions,” she said.
Amid the turmoil, Japan has urged its citizens in mainland China to take safety precautions.
“When going out, please remain vigilant of your surroundings, such as the approach of suspicious individuals, and endeavour to ensure your safety as much as possible, for instance by travelling in groups,” the Japanese embassy in Beijing said on its website.
Those who are accompanied by children should “take particular care”, it added.
Japanese citizens should also avoid crowded places and areas popular with other Japanese nationals, it said.
“If you notice any individuals or groups that seem suspicious in any way, do not approach them and leave the area promptly,” it said, adding that citizens who “feel uneasy” should contact the embassy.
Mao said Beijing would safeguard the safety of foreign nationals in accordance with the law.


The diplomatic rift is also affecting other sectors, with Chinese state media reporting that at least two popular Japanese films have postponed their release in China.
China has also urged its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan, with major Chinese airlines offering full refunds to those who had planned to travel to Japan between noon on Saturday and the end of the year.
China’s Ministry of Education has also encouraged its citizens with plans to study in Japan to reconsider.
China is one of the biggest sources of foreign tourists to Japan, with mainland travellers making 7.48 million trips in the first nine months of this year. More than 123,000 Chinese students were enrolled in Japanese universities and language schools as of May last year, accounting for 36.7 per cent of the total, the largest source of foreign students in the country.
Tokyo lodged a protest over Beijing’s advisories directed at travellers and students. Japanese chief cabinet secretary Minoru Kihara said on Monday that China’s advice would “hinder bilateral exchange, and diverge from the broader direction agreed by our respective leaders to build constructive and stable ties in line with a strategic and mutually beneficial relationship”.
Kyodo News reported that a Chinese official delegation from Xuzhou in eastern China’s Jiangsu province had postponed a planned trip to Handa in Aichi prefecture in central Japan because of “imperative official business”.
Also on Monday, the annual three-day Beijing-Tokyo Forum, which had been scheduled from Saturday in the Chinese capital, was postponed at the request of the Chinese organiser, China International Communications Group, according to the Japanese organiser, Genron NPO.
The results of an annual joint poll on public sentiment carried out by the forum’s two organisers were also scheduled to be released on Monday but the release was postponed.
The forum itself, which has been held every year since 2005, typically brings together academics and senior diplomats from both countries.


Japanese museums shun video artwork on wartime atrocities acclaimed abroad

Trump hails WWII ‘ally’ China as Xi tells of bonds ‘forged in blood and fire’

Red carpet vs empty tarmac: Xi’s US welcome fuels debate over Takaichi’s no-show reception

US tightens Japan, South Korea ties ahead of Trump-Xi summit

China-Japan relations

Hopes dim as China-Japan talks on Takaichi Taiwan Strait row end with no resolution

Tensions between Beijing and Tokyo flared after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told Japan’s parliament the military could be deployed if there was a situation involving an armed attack against Taiwan. Photo: Kyodo

Beijing-Tokyo row over Takaichi’s Taiwan comments: everything you need to know

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has walked back some of her direct comments on Taiwan. Photo: EPA

Tokyo says a Chinese Type 055 destroyer was among three PLA warships to travel past the south of Japan on November 11, 2025. Photo: CCTV

Chinese foreign vice-minister Sun Weidong has described the Japanese leader’s remarks as an “interference in China’s internal affairs”. Photo: Xinhua

China is one of the biggest sources of foreign tourists to Japan. Photo: EPA

A leaders’ meeting at the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa has been ruled out as a senior Japanese diplomat flies to China in bid to calm tensions. Photo: Shutterstock

Illustration: Eunice Tse

The rail gun prototype was tested in sea trials this month. Photo: JMSDF

US pulls missile system from Japan as Beijing-Tokyo row over Taiwan deepens

The US has conducted multiple tests of the Typhon system, which includes four trailer-based launchers and supporting equipment capable of firing both Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles. Photo: handout

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo on October 21. Photo: AP

Taiwan on edge as Beijing fury erupts over Takaichi’s ‘survival-threat’ remarks

Local newspapers report on Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remarks on Taiwan at a newsstand in Beijing on Monday. Photo: AP

Newly elected opposition Kuomintang leader Cheng Li-wun says William Lai is “adding fuel to the fire”. Photo AFP

Japan’s Takaichi seeks to cool China tensions amid Taiwan row

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the nation’s parliament. Photo: Kyodo

China’s travel warnings for Japan evoke mixed reactions at home

A Chinese tour group at Tokyo’s Ginza shopping district on November 16. China is one of the biggest sources of foreign tourists to Japan. Photo: AFP

People admire the ginkgo leaves in autumn colours at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on November 17. Photo: AFP

News

China

Diplomacy

Foreign ministry’s Asian affairs chief Liu Jinsong ‘very unsatisfied’ after talks with Japan counterpart, Chinese media reports


Foreign ministry’s Asian affairs chief Liu Jinsong ‘very unsatisfied’ after talks with Japan counterpart, Chinese media reports.


Hopes dim as China-Japan talks on Takaichi Taiwan Strait row end with no resolution

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Foreign ministry’s Asian affairs chief Liu Jinsong ‘very unsatisfied’ after talks with Japan counterpart, Chinese media reports

Foreign ministry’s Asian affairs chief Liu Jinsong ‘very unsatisfied’ after talks with Japan counterpart, Chinese media reports