Beijing summoned Hideo Tarumi, Japan's ambassador to China, on Sunday to lodge a "solemn" protest over references to Taiwan and other issues related to the nation in Group of Seven statements made at a summit in Hiroshima, while the envoy offered a counterargument, the two countries said.
Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong expressed Beijing's "strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition" over the statements issued during the G7 summit hosted by Japan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. Tarumi told Sun it was "only natural" that such references were made and urged China to change course, the Japanese Embassy said.
The heads of the world's leading democracies meeting in Hiroshima expressed serious concerns about rising tensions in the East and South China seas as well as voicing concerns about the human rights situations in China, including in Tibet and Xinjiang.