China says US-Japan actions are stoking division

BEIJING (AP) — China has hit back at the U.S.-Japan show of alliance during talks between President Joe Biden and Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, calling it an ironic attempt of stoking division. China said Suga and Biden’s news conference Friday, in which they issued a joint statement on shared values in democracy and human rights and aired concerns about China’s activities in the Indo-Pacific region, had gone far beyond the scope of normal development of bilateral relations. The statement was issued by its embassy in Washington, where Biden hosted Suga. Japan, long cautious in managing relations with its neighbor, has become more outspoken with Suga. Their statement also expressed concern over human rights in Hong Kong and for China’s ethnic Muslim minority.