Some Japanese bigwigs have recently made remarks recognizing Taiwan’s statehood to get on China’s nerves.

A spokesman for the Taiwan affairs office of China’s State Council, in a regular news briefing on June 16, resolutely denounced Japan’s House of Councillors for adopting a resolution in support of Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly, and asserted that the Taiwan-related issue of the WHO should surely be dealt with on the one China principle.

Contending that Taiwan is part of China, he said the Japanese militarists had illegally occupied Taiwan for 50 years, started a war of aggression against the country and brought severe calamities to its people including those in Taiwan. He urged the Japanese side to take a proper approach toward their disgraceful history of aggression, do soul-searching and refrain from meddling in the Taiwan issue in strict observance of the spirit of the four political documents adopted between China and Japan.

The following day, however, the Japanese defence minister, in an online meeting of the committee for diplomatic, security and defence policies of the European Parliament, claimed that a stable situation around Taiwan is important also for the international community.

Earlier on June 10, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry protested to the Japanese side, saying that for the Japanese leader to openly describe Taiwan as a “state” was in serious breach of the four political documents including “China-Japan joint statement” and also the commitment Japan made on several occasions not to recognize Taiwan as a state.

Discord between China and Japan is gradually assuming a serious aspect also in the economic sector.

Referring to the Chinese government’s programme for inviting researchers with great expertise, an insider of the Japanese ministry of economy and industry on June 10 made an offensive remark against China that researchers of different countries argue that technology and information might be leaked to China.

A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry on June 18 stated that the Japanese government is pursuing or studying a series of policies by keeping pace with the West in its bid to stunt the Chinese economy and trying to break the connection between China and the so-called industrial and supply chains, thereby creating an obstacle to regular economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. This will endanger the reciprocal cooperation between the businesses of the two countries, he warned.

Analysts commented that this time Japan fully revealed its intention to restrain China’s influence in Asia-Pacific and make profits from the competition between China and the West.