Beijing: China on Tuesday declared dialogue as 'unacceptable' if confrontation persists, following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's expressed willingness for talks with Beijing. "True dialogue is built on the basis of respecting each other and honoring the agreements made," stated Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian during a news conference in Beijing. "If anyone just talks about the need for dialogue while keeping themselves busy stoking confrontation, then this so-called 'dialogue' is apparently unacceptable," he added.

According to Anadolu Agency, Lin Jian emphasized that for Japan to genuinely foster a strategic relationship of mutual benefit with China, it must retract Prime Minister Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan, adhere to the four political documents between China and Japan, and fulfill its own political commitments. "Concrete actions to demonstrate sincerity for dialogue" are essential, Lin stressed.

The diplomatic ties between China and Japan have been under strain since Prime Minister Takaichi's comments in November. She suggested that a possible Chinese attack on Taiwan could pose a 'survival-threatening situation' for Japan, potentially justifying the exercise of collective self-defense. Beijing reacted strongly to these remarks, cautioning Chinese citizens against traveling to Japan and reinstating a ban on Japanese seafood imports.

In the political arena, Takaichi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party recently secured 315 seats in the lower house, while its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, contributed to a supermajority of 351 seats in the election held on Sunday.