"We have sent a signal. This is just the beginning": China seethes with anger and warns Japan

Tensions between China and Japan seems to be growing. The Chinese gave the Japanese a clear signal that they did not intend to retreat. They put forward clear requirements.

Diplomatic conflict between China and Japan has been escalating for two weeks now. The Global Times newspaper, the mouthpiece of the Chinese government, has now addressed this issue. The editorial emphasizes that China, as a country that values peace and friendship, can respond decisively if Japan does not change its position.

"If Japan stubbornly follows its own path, refuses to take back its erroneous statements and even behaves provocatively, China has every right to take further and more decisive action," the newspaper wrote.

"We hope that the Japanese side will stop, immediately retract its erroneous statements and take concrete actions to protect Sino-Japanese relations as a whole, and not continue to follow this erroneous path. Otherwise, those who play with fire will inevitably face even more serious consequences," the source added.

In a similar tone in recent days, the official representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning, has spoken out.

"If Japan refuses to take back its words or even makes new mistakes, China will have no choice but to take decisive retaliatory measures. Any consequences of this will fall on the shoulders of the Japanese side," she said at a press conference.

Chinese authorities are demanding that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi abandon statements suggesting that Japan could be drawn into a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait. China, as usual, uses economic leverage to punish countries that do not obey its will. Imports of Japanese seafood have already been completely suspended. The Global Times newspaper wrote that this was "just a signal." Japan was also issued a travel ban warning, as a result of which half a million air tickets were returned by the end of the year. Japanese films were also withdrawn from rental. It is estimated that the diplomatic crisis with China could cost Japan more than $14 billion, including expenses related to travel restrictions.

Anonymous Japanese officials told Reuters that "Takaichi is unable to fulfill Beijing's main demand, which is to retract its statements that the attack on Taiwan, a democratically governed island claimed by Beijing, could lead to a military response from Tokyo." The Chinese also refuse to back down from their rhetoric. Liu Jinsong, a high-ranking Chinese official, during diplomatic negotiations was dressed in a five-button suit without a collar, which refers to the uprising of Chinese students against Japanese imperialism in 1919.