China has urged Japan to be prudent in its actions and words on the Taiwan question, stressing that Japan bears historical responsibility to the Chinese people on the issue, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday.
Mao made the remarks in response to the reports that Shigeru Iwasaki, a former chief of the Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, had been appointed as a political consultant by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in Taiwan.
"Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the Taiwan question is purely China's internal affairs and brooks no external interference. The one-China principle is the political foundation of China-Japan relations. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the triumph in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Japan bears historical guilt to the Chinese people over the Taiwan question and should all the more speak and act prudently, honoring its commitment to the one-China principle with concrete actions," Mao said.
"China has lodged representations with Japan over the latest developments. The DPP authorities' collusion with external forces in pursuing separatist agendas will not succeed," the spokeswoman added.
Japan urged to be prudent in words, actions on Taiwan question
China recorded a relatively fast credit growth in the first four months of this year, providing solid support for the country's real economy, economists said.
China issued 10.06 trillion yuan (about 1.39 trillion U.S. dollars) in new yuan-denominated loans in the first four months of 2025, data from the People's Bank of China, the central bank, showed on Wednesday.
"The reasonable growth of new loans fully meets the effective financing needs of the real economy from equipment renewal in manufacturing to capital turnover in the service industry, and stimulates the vitality and creativity of market entities," said Lu Zhe, chief economist of Soochow Securities Co., Ltd.
Dong Ximiao, chief researcher of the Merchants Union Consumer Finance Co., Ltd, has also noted that at the end of April, the growth rate of yuan-denominated loans was still significantly higher than the nominal economic growth rate.
"In the fourth quarter of last year, the issuance of special refinancing bonds for debt repayment exceeded 2 trillion yuan. From January to April of this year, nearly 1.6 trillion yuan worth of such bonds were issued. Market research estimates that the corresponding loans to be replaced amount to about 2.1 trillion yuan. After adjustment, the growth rate of yuan-dominated loans remained above 8 percent at the end of April. It is expected that the growth of the financial aggregate will remain stable in the next stage," Dong said.
Meanwhile, financing costs remained at historically low levels. Data showed that the weighted average interest rate on new corporate loans issued in April was around 3.2 percent, about 4 basis points lower than that in the previous month, and the weighted average interest rate on new personal housing loans stood at about 3.1 percent.
"The steady growth of financial data in April indicates that the 'moderately loose' monetary policy has continued to show its effectiveness. The growth in both quantity and quality of loans, the reasonable increase in money supply, plus abundant liquidity, demonstrate the strong support of the financial system for the real economy," said Lu.
China's relatively fast credit growth provides solid support for real economy
