A meeting of culture ministers from Japan, China, and South Korea, scheduled for Monday in Macau, has been postponed, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a news conference Thursday.
Mao said that the foundation and atmosphere for trilateral cooperation have been destroyed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent remark on a possible Taiwan contingency. The conditions for holding a meeting among the countries are not in place, she also said.
With the Japan-China rift over Takaichi's remark spilling over into three-way ties, the prospect of an early summit in Japan among the three East Asian neighbors has become dim.
According to a source in South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Beijing requested the postponement on Tuesday.
The three countries had sought to hold a summit in Japan, but this has faced scheduling difficulties due to a presidential election in South Korea and the resignation of Takaichi's predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba.
The possibility of a prolonged confrontation between Japan and China has made a trilateral summit all the more unlikely.
Tokyo is exploring the possibility of Takaichi making contact with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the two-day Group of 20 summit in South Africa from Saturday. But Mao told the news conference that Li has no plans to hold talks with a Japanese leader.
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