Beijing: China’s commerce ministry announced on Thursday that trade cooperation with Japan has been significantly impacted following comments made by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe concerning the Taiwan issue.

According to Thai News Agency, Chinese Commerce Ministry spokeswoman He Yongqian addressed the situation during a regular news conference in Beijing. She warned that if Japan continues down what she termed a “wrong” path, China would consider taking “necessary measures” in response.

The diplomatic tension between the two nations, which are Asia’s largest economies, was exacerbated when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made remarks indicating that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could threaten Japan’s survival and possibly lead to military retaliation. Officials noted that Takaichi’s comments were unscripted, delivered in response to opposition lawmakers’ questions during her initial parliamentary questioning session.

In reaction to the remarks, China has taken several steps to impact Japan’s economy, including travel boycotts, seafood import bans, and the cancellation of conferences and cultural events, illustrating the depth of China’s dissatisfaction.

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara addressed the media, stating that Japan will continue to encourage China to ease export restrictions and will strongly advocate for lifting the seafood import ban affecting certain Japanese prefectures.