Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun

China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between Taiwan regional authorities and countries that have diplomatic relations with China, and urges Japan to earnestly abide by the one-China principle and refrain from sending any wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Friday in response to a media report that Japan's former chief cabinet secretary Kato Katsunobu had recently visited Taiwan region and met with "Taiwan president" Lai Ching-te. 

"First of all, Taiwan is a province of China and there is no such thing as a 'president,'" Guo said. There is only one China in the world and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory. 

Guo also emphasized that what Japan should do most urgently now is to withdraw the erroneous Taiwan-related remarks made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Global Times