China tells Japan to stay out of Hong Kong, Xinjiang issues ahead of Biden-Suga talks

Ahead of Biden-Suga talks, China has warned Japan to steer clear of its “internal issues” including Hong Kong and Xinjiang. In a rare telephone conversation on April 5, Chinese minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi asked his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi to treat China’s development from an “objective and rational” perspective, rather than be led by the rhythm of countries that are biased against China. Asserting that Beijing was aware of its international obligations, he said that only Chinese people would decide what the country should do. 

“The will of some superpower does not represent that of the international community, and a few countries following this superpower have no right to monopolize multilateral rules. The law of the jungle will prevail in the world where one cannot distinguish right from wrongdoing if some countries, under the guise of multilateralism, are wild about bloc politics or major-country confrontation, or even arbitrarily impose unilateral illegal sanctions on others based on false information. It will be a disaster for the vast number of small and medium-sized countries, and the majority members of the international community will not allow that to happen,” Wang said. 

Tokyo raises concern over Xinjiang

During the conversation, Motegi reiterated Tokyo’s concern over a range of issues, including the situation in the Xinjiang region and also its newly passed decree allowing coastguards to fire on foreign vehicles. However, in a separate statement later, Beijing asserted that both the countries should “respect and trust each other” and jointly play a positive role in the peace and development of the region.  

“Japan has an alliance with the United States, while China and Japan have also signed the Japan-China Treaty of Peace and Friendship, so Japan also has the obligation to fulfil the treaty. China stands ready to continue promoting pragmatic cooperation with Japan, support each other in hosting the Tokyo Olympic Games and the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, and take the opportunity of the China-Japan Cultural and Sports Exchange Promotion Year in 2021 and 2022 and next year's 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between China and Japan, to improve the national feelings of the two countries, and bring stable and healthy China-Japan relations into the next 50 years,” it said. 

Image Credits: Associated Press