Japanese PM's erroneous remarks on China's Taiwan draw increasing opposition, criticism at home: Chinese spokesman

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's erroneous remarks regarding China's Taiwan region have drawn increasing opposition and criticism at home, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Thursday.

Guo made the comments while responding to a media query about the recent comments by Takaichi that Japan holds an open attitude towards conducting dialogue with China at various levels. "Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's erroneous remarks on Taiwan have not only provoked strong indignation among the Chinese people, but also drawn increasing opposition and criticism from objective and rational people in Japan. I have noticed that Atsushi Okamoto, former editor-in-chief of Sekai Magazine and former president of Iwanami Shoten Publishers, recently said that Japanese PM Takaichi frequently talks about dialogue, but true dialogue begins with respecting for each other and understanding each other on an equal footing. Takaichi's attitude makes it impossible to have a dialogue. This statement reveals the true nature of the issue," the spokesman said.

Japanese PM's erroneous remarks on China's Taiwan draw increasing opposition, criticism at home: Chinese spokesman

In the first quarter of the year, the Erenhot Railway Port, a key hub on the "middle corridor" of the China-Europe Railway Express, handled a record-high 1,145 freight train trips, a 22.3 percent increase from last year.

Cargo volumes also rose steadily, with the port transporting 110,200 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers and 946,400 tonnes of goods in first three months, up 14.6 percent and 19.7 percent year on year, respectively.

The railway network serves as a major platform for the Belt and Road Initiative. It consists of western, eastern, and middle corridors, and has been expanding its reach across Eurasia in recent years. In January, a new route linking Russia's Solombarka and Weizi Town in north China's Shanxi Province was launched via Erenhot, bringing the total number of routes to 75.

The network now connects to more than 70 logistics hubs in over 10 countries, including Germany and Poland, while linking with most major China-Europe freight train departure cities nationwide.

Erenhot Railway Port handles record 1,145 China-Europe freight trains in Q1