India-Japan relations should not focus on a third party: China

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during an informal dinner hosted for the Japanese Prime Minister in New Delhi. | Photo credit: PTI

China said on Friday (3 July 2026) that bilateral cooperation between the countries should not target any third party or undermine the interests of another nation, a day after India and Japan unveiled a series of major initiatives during Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s visit to New Delhi.

“Cooperation between countries should contribute to strengthening understanding and trust between regional countries and ensuring peace and stability in the region,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a press conference in Beijing.

He was responding to a question on India-Japan cooperation on critical minerals to strengthen resilience of supply chains after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Japanese Prime Minister.

“Such cooperation should not target any third party or harm the interests of any third party, much less be used as an excuse to patch exclusive small groupings and divide and confront,” Mr. Guo said.

“It is the shared responsibility of all countries to keep global industrial and supply chains safe and stable. All parties should promote openness and cooperation and play a constructive role in this process,” he added.

Following summit talks between Mr Modi and Ms Takaichi on Thursday (July 2), India and Japan unveiled a number of major initiatives, including an economic partnership framework, a defense pact to jointly develop military hardware and steps to strengthen energy ties to address oil shocks.

They also expressed “serious concern” over the situation in the East China Sea and South China Sea and opposed unilateral actions that threaten freedom of navigation, as well as attempts to change the status quo by force, the joint statement said.

The Japanese prime minister’s visit to India was closely watched by Beijing as relations between Japan and China deteriorated to their lowest level in years following remarks by Ms Takaichi in November 2025 that Japan could retaliate if China attacked Taiwan.

China considers Taiwan, a self-governing island, to be a renegade province that should be taken by force if necessary. Her comments drew a furious response from China.

China has tightened exports of rare earth minerals to Japan, the US, India and several countries to use them as leverage to expand its business interests.

China accounts for about 70% of global rare earth mining and nearly 90% of its processing.

Minerals are essential for the production of electronics, automobiles, wind power, defense equipment and a range of modern gadgets.

Published – 03 Jul 2026 17:28 IST