China’s Wang Yi takes aim at Japan in call with South Korean foreign minister
Last Updated on January 1, 2026 9:34 pm
By Orange Wang
With less than a week to go until a presidential summit, China’s top diplomat has used talks with his South Korean counterpart to reassert Beijing’s stand on Taiwan and take aim at Tokyo.
In a phone call with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on Wednesday, China’s Wang Yi raised the spectre of Japan’s colonial past to get support for his country’s position on Taiwan.
Wang accused “certain political forces in Japan” of trying to “reverse the course of history and whitewash [the country’s] crimes of aggression and colonialism”, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
“It is believed that the South Korean side will uphold a responsible attitude towards history and people, adopt the correct stance and safeguard international justice, including adhering to the one-China principle on Taiwan,” Wang told Cho.
A day earlier, Wang warned that “Japan’s current leader publicly challenged China’s sovereignty” and the world “must stay highly vigilant to the resurgence of militarism in Japan”.
Tokyo has been critical of drills by the People’s Liberation Army around Taiwan this week, adding to the tensions that followed Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s suggestion last month that an attack on Taiwan by the PLA could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, justifying military intervention from Tokyo.
Source : SCMP