DgcityJapanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to attend the APEC leaders’ summit in Shenzhen next week, but diplomatic sources say she is likely to be the only major-economy leader who will not hold a formal meeting with President Xi Jinping, a striking measure of how badly relations between the two Asian neighbors have deteriorated.
The freeze began a year ago, on November 7, 2025, when Takaichi told Japan’s parliament that an attack on Taiwan or a naval blockade of the island could constitute a survival-threatening situation for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to act alongside the United States under its right of collective self-defense.
Beijing reacted with fury, describing the remarks as a threat of aggression and demanding a retraction. It has since imposed a series of measures including travel advisories warning Chinese citizens against visiting Japan, a ban on Japanese seafood imports and restrictions on exports of rare earths used in Japanese electronics and car manufacturing.
Ahead of the anniversary on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the serious difficulties in relations were entirely Japan’s responsibility and that it was urgent for Tokyo to correct what he called its erroneous remarks on Taiwan. Takaichi, who has not retracted the statement, said Japan would continue to seek dialogue and build constructive and stable ties.
Japanese officials are now hoping only for an informal exchange or a protocol handshake during the Shenzhen meetings, according to reports. Such images could help revive business and municipal exchanges that have withered over the past year, even without a formal summit.
The impasse has pushed Tokyo to deepen security and economic cooperation with other partners rather than focus on a quick fix with Beijing. Japan is preparing to revise three core national security documents by the end of the year, a step that will likely draw further accusations of militarization from Beijing, while Japanese companies have accelerated efforts to find alternative sources of critical minerals.
Business ties have proved more resilient than political ones. A former Japanese foreign minister, leading a trade promotion delegation, held talks in Beijing in September with Wang Yi and Vice Premier He Lifeng, and some Japanese companies have resumed planning for the Chinese market. But the recovery is uneven: a planned mission by Japan’s main business federation was cancelled, and Chinese tourism to Japan remains far below pre-dispute levels.
