China summoned the Japanese ambassador to Beijing, alleging that the G-7 summit held in Japan's Hiroshima witnessed 'hype around China-related issues'.
China's Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong said Japan collaborated with the US and other allies in carrying out a smear campaign against China a the weekend summit of the Group of Seven developed nations.
Interfering in Internal Affairs
The heads of the world's leading democracies meeting in the Japanese city of Hiroshima expressed serious concerns about rising tensions in East and South China Seas as well as voicing concerns about the human rights situations in China, including in Tibet and Xinjiang.
According to Sun, the G-7 summit saw activities and joint declarations that seemed to smear and attack China. He said the summit agenda grossly interfered in China's internal affairs and violated the "basic principles of international law and the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan."
Japan Rejects Chinese Claims
"Japan should correct its understanding of China, grasp strategic autonomy, adhere to the principles of the four political documents between China and Japan, and truly promote the stable development of bilateral relations with a constructive attitude," Sun said, according to the Channel News Asia.
However, Japan rejected the Chinese claims. "China should first take positive steps to address those issues of concerns if China demands not to refer to them," Hideo Tarumi, Japanese ambassador to China, said. Tarumi said it was natural for the world leaders to discuss matters of common concern.
Over the weekend, the G-7 leaders had issued a communique following their summit, in which they also dealt with issues such as China's strong arm tactics in the South China Sea and Beijing's alleged human rights violations in Tibet and Xinjiang. It also referred to China's alleged interference in democracies in the neighborhood, without specifically mentioning Taiwan.
Besides Japan, G7 includes the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany and Italy.
China Miffed at UK Prime Minister
In a separate development, China's embassy in London criticized British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's statement that Beijing represented the world's greatest challenge to security and prosperity. China asked Britain to stop slandering China, reports said.
Global Times, the Chinese government mouthpiece, said the US was taking a lead in creating an anti-China narrative around the world. "The U.S. is pushing hard to weave an anti-China net in the Western world ... This is not just a matter of brutal interference in China's internal affairs and smearing China, but also an undisguised urge for confrontation between the camps," the Global Times said in an editorial.
