MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th June, 2020) Japan has snubbed the invitation by its Western allies to sign up to a joint statement condemning China for passing a Hong Kong security law, media have said.
The United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom accused China last week of violating the terms of the 1984 pact that handed the British colony back to Beijing, saying the law undermined the one country, two systems framework.
Kyodo, a Japanese news agency, cited officials from countries involved who said that Tokyo had been approached in secret, in a bid to convince it to put its signature to the joint statement, but it had refused.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was to travel to Japan in April for a state visit but it was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on May 29 that China hoped Japan would create favorable conditions for the visit as he slammed the four Western nations for meddling in China's home affairs.
