Following the Friday meeting in Washington between Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Taiwan was named in a leader's summit statement for the first time in more than five decades. The statement also highlighted U.S. and Japanese concerns over Hong Kong and human rights issues in Xinjiang.
China responded by saying the statement infringes on the communist nation's "internal affairs." "These matters bear on China's fundamental interests and allow no interference. We express strong concern and firm opposition to relevant comments in the Joint Leaders' Statement," a spokesperson at the Chinese embassy said in a statement on Saturday.
Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang belong to "China's internal affairs," the statement said.
Related: China’s state media taunts U.S. after PLA’s largest aerial exercise against Taiwan, April 13, 2021
"These comments have gone far beyond the scope of normal development of bilateral relations," the embassy added. "The scheme of the U.S. and Japan goes against the trend of the times and the will of people in the region. Though it is designed to undermine others, it will only end up hurting themselves."
Suga and Team Biden released a statement that referred to Taiwan, saying, "We underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues."
The last time Japan and the U.S. mentioned Taiwan in such a statement was in 1969 after a summit between then Japanese Prime Minister Sato Eisaku and U.S. President Richard Nixon. This was before both countries normalized diplomatic ties with China in the 1970s.
The Chinese propaganda outlet Global Times slammed the Japan-U.S. statement in an editorial, saying it is time for the two countries to behave in a "responsible manner." "It seems the sole aim for the U.S. and Japan to reinforce their decades-old alliance under the new U.S. administration is to redirect it against China, a signal the two countries should have avoided to send as it brims with a Cold War mentality and ideological bias," the editorial stated.
"Both the U.S. and Japan should behave in a more constructive and responsible manner," it added.
"Their anti-China collusion would only produce a lose-lose outcome, which will benefit no one's interests, let alone contribute to regional peace and stability."
Meanwhile, Taiwan welcomed the Suga-Biden statement, with its foreign ministry expressing "sincere gratitude" for the "recognition of the importance of peace and stability in the region across the Taiwan Strait."
"Taiwan, located in an important position in the first island chain, continues to play a key role in regional stability and prosperity and also shares the same feelings with regional countries over the threats and aggression via land, maritime and aerospace," the Taiwan foreign ministry said.
In their joint statement, Suga and Biden also "shared their concerns over Chinese activities that are inconsistent with the international rules-based order, including the use of economic and other forms of coercion."
"We oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea," the statement said, in apparent reference to the uninhabited Senkaku Islands that lie close to Taiwan. The islets, known as Diaoyu in China, are administered by Japan but claimed by China, which has frequently sent its vessels into nearby waters.
The statement also touched upon China's claims to most of the South China Sea.
"We reiterated our objections to China's unlawful maritime claims and activities in the South China Sea and reaffirmed our strong shared interest in a free and open South China Sea governed by international law."
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims Taiwan as its territory despite having never ruled it. Washington is required by U.S. law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, despite not recognizing Taiwan as a country.
Team Biden last week dispatched an unofficial delegation, including former Deputy Secretaries of State Richard Armitage and James Steinberg, to Taiwan. The visit came days after 25 Chinese warplanes entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone, the latest in a series of aerial incursions by China.
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