China has expressed strong dissatisfaction to Japan about what it called “smear attacks” against China at recent high-level meetings with the United States, India and Australia.
A foreign ministry statement said that Liu Jinsong, the director general of the Asian affairs department, conveyed solemn representations and serious concern at a meeting the previous day with Akira Yokochi, the deputy chief of mission at the Japanese embassy.
“Liu pointed out that Japan’s smear attacks on China are self-contradictory to its statement of promoting the strategic and reciprocal relationship between the two countries,” the statement said.
Meeting in Tokyo on Sunday, Japan’s foreign and defence ministers agreed to bolster military cooperation with the US at what are known as “2+2” talks with their American counterparts.
A joint statement said China’s foreign policy “seeks to reshape the international order for its own benefit at the expense of others” and that such behaviour represents “the greatest strategic challenge” in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
The US-Japan talks were followed by a meeting on Monday of the foreign ministers from the Quad countries – the US, Japan, India and Australia.
The joint statement did not mention China by name but expressed opposition to “the militarisation of disputed features and coercive and intimidating manoeuvres in the South China Sea”.
The Chinese government has complained repeatedly about the US deepening ties with other countries in the face of China’s rise, which President Joe Biden has made a priority during his four years in office.
The foreign ministry statement said China urges Japan to stop making irresponsible remarks on Chinese internal affairs – a likely reference to Taiwan – and called on Japan to stop colluding with “certain countries” to form small circles that lead to confrontation.
A Japanese embassy statement said that the deputy chief had expounded Japan’s positions at the meeting and made representations on various China-related topics.
