BEIJING — A week in which longtime tensions between neighbors China and Japan ratcheted up economically and politically drew to a close with no sign of improvements Friday as the Chinese ambassador in Tokyo rebuffed his host nation and the Japanese reported delayed shipments to suppliers in China because of the spat.
The two developments capped a week where China made clear its displeasure with Japan by instituting new export controls, condemning what it called Tokyo’s renewed militarism and cozying up to another regional neighbor, South Korea, during its leader’s visit to Beijing.
On Friday, the Chinese Communist Party’s flagship newspaper, People’s Daily, kept the jabs coming.
“New militarism will lead Japan back into the abyss,” it said in an editorial. “History serves as a stark warning, yet the Japanese right wing is repeating its old tricks.”
It was the latest in several days of pointed Chinese criticism toward Japan after its prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, suggested in November that she wouldn’t rule out intervening if China used military force against the island of Taiwan. China views self-governed Taiwan as its sovereign territory and has said it would take it by force if needed. It staged large-scale military exercises nearby late last month.
On Thursday night, the Chinese embassy in Japan said it had rejected a petition from Japan’s Foreign Ministry to retract the new export controls on “dual-use items” that the Japanese military might be able to use in weaponry. The ambassador, Wu Jianghao, insisted that China’s move was “entirely legitimate, reasonable and lawful” — and vital to national security.
Also Friday, Japanese officials said they are closely watching if Japanese exports of agricultural, fisheries and other goods are appropriately handled by China without delays. The Japanese news agency Kyodo reported that outgoing shipments of sake and processed food from Japan to China were being held up because of the diplomatic tensions, widening the ripples of the dispute.
Officials at the government-affiliated Japan External Trade Organization told The Associated Press that the shipments had been delayed in customs on the China side starting in late November. Kyodo, quoting trad