China protests over Japan’s ‘negative and erroneous’ comments in wake of Joe Biden’s Asia tour

The foreign ministry in Beijing summons a Japanese embassy official for a late-night dressing down over comments made during the US president’s visit

Japan and the US reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate over issues such as Taiwan and the South China Sea as well as meeting the other Quad leaders

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Joe Biden finished his first tour of Asia as president on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:00pm, 25 May 2022Updated: 11:09pm, 25 May 2022

Beijing has protested to Japan over what it called “negative and erroneous statements and actions concerning China” hours after US President Joe Biden’s trip to Tokyo.

Liu Jingsong, the director general of the Chinese foreign ministry’s department of Asian affairs, summoned Fumio Shimizu, a senior member of the embassy staff in Beijing, late on Tuesday night, the ministry said in a brief statement.

Liu told Shimizu that Japan’s recent remarks regarding China “at the Japan-US leaders’ meeting, the Japan-US joint statement and Quad summit” were “negative and erroneous”, the statement said, adding that Liu “made stern representations and expressed strong dissatisfaction and serious concern”.

The summons came hours after Biden wrapped up his first Asian tour as president. The visit to Tokyo included a summit with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, during which the two allies reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate on a wide range of issues, including Taiwan, the East and South China seas, as well as China’s military cooperation with Russia.

And on Tuesday, the pair also met the Indian and Australian prime ministers for a meeting of the Quad, which Beijing has attacked as a US-led attempt to create an Asian version of Nato.

In an apparent show of strength, Chinese and Russian warplanes conducted a joint patrol over the Sea of Japan and East China Sea during the Quad summit, prompting Japan and South Korea to scramble fighter jets in response.