China is willing to work with South Pacific countries and make contributions to peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Friday.
Guo made the remarks at a regular press briefing when asked about reports that certain Pacific island countries called for at least 24 hours' advance notice of any future missile tests.
"China has on many occasions made clear its position on the test launch. China is committed to peaceful development and a national defense policy that is defensive in nature. We never engage in military expansion. China stands ready to work with South Pacific countries to contribute to peace, stability, development and prosperity of the South Pacific region," said Guo.
China willing to work with South Pacific countries for regional peace: spokesman
China willing to work with South Pacific countries for regional peace: spokesman
Japan's 10-year government bond yield rose above three percent on Tuesday for the first time in about 30 years, reflecting growing market concern over the country's fiscal sustainability, according to economists.
Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond yield surged to 3.015 percent on Wednesday, marking its highest level since September 1996. Bond yields move inversely to their prices, meaning the sharp rise in yields reflects intensified selling pressure across Japan's government bond market.
"Since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office [on October 21, 2025], Japan's long-term interest rate has risen by about 80 percent. The pace of increase is 3.8 times that of the United States and 2.6 times that of Germany. The situation is already very critical," said Hidetoshi Tashiro, chief economist of Japan's Infinity LLC.
A key consequence of the rising long-term interest rate will be higher borrowing costs for businesses, said an expert.
"Once the government bond yield reaches three percent, some companies may see their financing costs rise to about five or six percent, which could curb corporate equipment investment. The Japanese government's current plans to promote equipment investment will also become difficult to achieve," said Hideo Kumano, head economist at the ABC Economic Research Institute in Japan.
The yen's continued depreciation is another worry. Despite recent joint intervention by Japan and the United States to stabilize the exchange rate, the impact has been limited, experts said.
"It's obvious that the effects of intervention are diminishing. An intervention in September 2022 moved the yen down or up by about two yen per one trillion yen spent. In the intervention in late July this year, however, the same amount moved the currency down or up by only about 0.5 yen, suggesting the effectiveness of such measures has declined to one-quarter in just four years," said Tashiro.
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda has voiced readiness to raise interest rates in consideration of economic and price conditions and to curb the yen's depreciation.
However, economists expressed doubts about the long-term impact.
"Market insiders now almost unanimously expect the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates in September. But even that is unlikely to halt the yen's decline. The policy gap between the central bank and the government will probably persist. With long-term rates rising and the yen weakening, I believe Japan's economic policy is stuck in a difficult quagmire," said Kumano.
Japan's long-term interest rate tops 3 percent, fueling fiscal concerns
