China’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that Wang Yi had no meeting or even a brief exchange with Japan’s Toshimitsu Motegi during last week’s ASEAN gathering in Manila.
That directly contradicted Motegi’s account that the two ministers had briefly discussed bilateral ties, though Japanese media said the contact was largely greetings and pleasantries.
The dispute underscores a sharp freeze in relations since November, when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a Chinese blockade or attack on Taiwan could qualify as a survival-threatening scenario for Japan.
China treated the Taiwan remark as crossing a red line, while Japan says it remains open to dialogue; the chill has spilled into tourism, economic ties and mutual concern over military expansion.