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President Xi Jinping castigated Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for her country’s “remilitarisation” in an intense diatribe during his summit with Donald Trump, according to seven people familiar with the meeting in Beijing.
Xi became vocal and agitated when discussing Japan, surprising US officials because the subject had not featured in talks with their Chinese counterparts before the summit. Several people said Xi’s verbal attack was the most heated part of the two-day summit between the leaders.
After Xi lambasted Takaichi and Japan’s rising defence spending, Trump responded that Tokyo had to take a more assertive security stance due to the rising threat from North Korea. It was unclear if Trump mentioned China — the biggest Japanese security concern — in the same context.
Christopher Johnstone, a former top White House Japan official, said Xi’s “caustic approach” to Japan and effort to exploit Trump’s desire for stable US-China relations just affirmed Tokyo’s push for self-reliance in security.
“Xi’s lack of self-awareness is remarkable. His own actions are accelerating the emergence of a much stronger Japan,” said Johnstone.
“China’s anti-Japan rhetoric has no constituency beyond its own borders . . . Tokyo is strengthening security ties with partners across the region — including Australia, the Philippines and even South Korea — all of whom worry far more about an aggressive China than they do a ‘remilitarising’ Japan.”
Japan has cited the threat posed by China ahead of that from North Korea in successive annual defence white papers. Since 2023, it has described Chinese military activities and external posture as the “greatest strategic challenge”. A draft version of the 2026 paper focuses on recent incidents of greater military assertiveness by China and expresses “serious concern” over deepening military co-operation between Beijing and Moscow.
Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have nosedived since November when China reacted angrily to Takaichi saying that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could pose an “existential threat” to Japan that would justify it deploying its military. Despite not constituting a change in policy, Takaichi’s remarks sparked condemnation from China.
China has since maintained a steady drumbeat of attacks on Japan, mixing rhetoric with real measures, such as limits on dual-use exports of rare earths. On Friday, China’s foreign ministry said Japan increased military spending by 9.7 per cent in 2025.
“Japan’s defence budget has been increasing for 14 consecutive years, but Japanese right-wing forces are still clamouring for increasing defence spending,” it added. “It once again shows that Japan’s ‘country for peace’ mask is coming off and it is slipping towards neo-militarism.”
China, the world’s second largest military spender, raised defence spending last year by 7.4 per cent to $336bn — its 31st consecutive annual increase, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said. Japan spent $62bn.
Following her Taiwan comments, Takaichi got almost no public support from Trump or top US officials — a situation that created anxiety in Tokyo ahead of the Beijing summit about what Trump would say about Japan.
Trump called Takaichi from Air Force One on his flight back to Washington. But the White House and Japanese government have not disclosed any details about what the president said to his Japanese counterpart.
Tokyo is also nervous about the state of the US-Japan alliance, over issues from how Trump has imposed tariffs on allies to new concerns that US military deterrence against China is being diluted because of the Iran war.
The FT reported on Saturday that the US this month told Japan it should expect serious delays in the delivery of 400 Tomahawk missiles that Tokyo ordered in 2024 to serve as a “counterstrike” force against China.
Allies and partners are also concerned about Washington’s commitment to Taiwan after Trump said in Beijing that a pending $14bn record arms sales package for Taiwan was a good “negotiating chip” with China.
The FT reported on Friday that China was holding up a potential visit to Beijing by Elbridge Colby, the top Pentagon policy official, until the US made clear whether it would approve the weapons package for Taiwan.
The White House has been approached for comment on Xi’s discussion with Trump about Japan. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. The prime minister’s office in Japan declined to comment.
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