Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly rejected an indirect proposal to retract Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks implying intervention in a Taiwan contingency—comments seen as triggering the chill in bilateral relations—during a meeting with former Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, who recently visited China.

In an interview with Jiji Press on October 7, former Foreign Minister Iwaya, who led a private Japan-China economic exchange delegation to China late last month, stated that Wang demanded the withdrawal of the Taiwan-related remarks made by Prime Minister Takaichi during a parliamentary session in November of last year.

Iwaya expressed difficulty, telling Wang that retracting the remarks carried "a very heavy political burden."

He then proposed that both governments reaffirm the spirit of the 1972 Japan-China Joint Communique, established when the two nations normalized diplomatic relations, as an opportunity to "effectively retract" Prime Minister Takaichi's remarks.

In the Japan-China Joint Communique, Japan stated that it "fully understands and respects" China's position that "Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the People's Republic of China."

In response to Iwaya's proposal, Wang refused, stating, "Ambiguous methods are not good. In China, there is a saying that 'those who created the problem should be the ones to resolve it.'"

Additionally, Iwaya asked Wang to refrain from criticizing Japan's strengthening of its defense capabilities as "a new type of militarism."

Iwaya told Jiji Press that while Wang mentioned the need to improve Japan-China relations, he "felt that China's perspective on the Takaichi administration remains very strict."

Meanwhile, Iwaya also met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and requested that the Chinese government ease export restrictions on critical minerals, including rare earths.

In response, Vice Premier He reportedly showed willingness to resume economic cooperation between the two countries, stating, "If it is for military use, we will restrict it, but if it is for civilian use, there is no problem. We are exploring better management methods," according to Jiji Press.