Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian

The root cause of the current situation facing China-Japan relations is Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's erroneous remarks on Taiwan, which have sparked outrage from the Chinese people and tested the red line of the post-war international order, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Tuesday when asked for comment that, according to a draft reviewed by Reuters, Japan will downgrade its description of ties with China from "one of the most important" to instead describing China as an important neighbor and the relationship as "strategic and mutually beneficial." 

The change is alleged included in an annual diplomatic report that is under review by the Japanese government.

Lin said if the Japanese side truly wants to improve and develop relations with China, it needs to abide by the four political documents between China and Japan and its own commitments, retract the erroneous remarks on Taiwan as soon as possible, do soul-searching and correct its wrongdoings, and take concrete actions to uphold the political foundation of China-Japan relations. 

Global Times