Beijing/Tokyo, Nov. 7 (Jiji Press)–The administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping maintains its hard-line stance against Japan a year after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s parliamentary remarks regarding a possible contingency over Taiwan angered Beijing. The Chinese administration has shown some signs of softening its stance but has refused to hold intergovernmental dialogue with Tokyo. A thaw in relations between the two countries seems a long way off. At a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Japan’s parliament, on Nov. 7, 2025, Takaichi said that a contingency over Taiwan could constitute a so-called survival-threatening situation for Japan, in which the country can exercise its right to collective self-defense. China, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province, reacted sharply against the remarks, with an official of the country’s Foreign Ministry calling them a blatant interference in China’s internal affairs, and the Xi administration started to take retaliatory measures against Japan. Beijing also denounced the Takaichi government’s security policy, claiming that Japan is pursuing new militarism or seeking remilitarization. At a press conference in Tokyo on Friday, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said that Japan’s stance on Taiwan “has not changed at all,” seeking China’s understanding toward improving relations with Japan. The top government spokesman added: “China is an important neighbor. We’ll promote a mutually beneficial strategic relationship comprehensively and build constructive and stable ties.” In stark contrast, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun strongly criticized Tokyo at a press conference the same day, saying that the current serious difficulties in China-Japan relations are “entirely the responsibility of the Japanese side.” The situation stems from “the erroneous remarks made by the Japanese leader a year ago regarding Taiwan,” he also said. “Regrettably, one year on, the Japanese authorities have not moved at all,” Guo said, adding that the pressing priority for the Japanese side is “to correct the erroneous words and deeds on the Taiwan question, adopt a correct attitude on historical issues and form an objective and rational perception on China.” Meanwhile, the Xi administration accepted a suprapartisan mission of Japanese lawmakers to China in August this year and again in September. Also in September, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and Wang Yi, a member of the powerful Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee and foreign minister of China, held a meeting in Beijing with a delegation from Japan’s Association for the Promotion of International Trade. China and Japan are important economic and trade partners for each other, He told the delegation led by former Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya. Some said the series of recent developments marked progress in the two countries’ relations. However, a diplomatic source said that the September meeting between the Chinese officials and the delegation from the Japanese trade promotion group was “intended to apply pressure on the Takaichi administration through the private-sector organization.” There is no prospect of Japan and China arranging a bilateral summit on the sidelines of the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Shenzhen, China, from Nov. 18. At the press conference Friday, Japan’s Kihara said, “I would like to refrain from commenting with prejudgment (on the possibility of a Japan-China summit taking place on the fringe of the APEC meeting).” The Xi administration has agreed with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to stabilize China-U.S. relations. China also maintains dialogue with other Western nations and therefore does not seem to be in a hurry to improve relations with Japan. Xi is said to have had distrust in Takaichi over history recognition and other issues since even before her remarks a year ago over a Taiwan contingency. “It will take several years for things to turn for the better,” a source familiar with Japan-China relations said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
