Meeting between PMs of China and Japan at G20 summit not planned, says Beijing

China has urged Tokyo to "behave with restraint" after it called for talks amid the diplomatic freeze over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's comments about Taiwan, Report informs via South China Morning Post.

Asked about a possible meeting between Premier Li Qiang and Takaichi on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Summit in South Africa this weekend, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said China had no such plans.

"There's no arrangement for Premier Li Qiang meeting the Japanese leader. We urge Japan to behave with proper self-restraint," Mao said on Thursday.

Beijing said on Monday that Li would not meet Takaichi in South Africa, but Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said the following day that Tokyo was still open to dialogue with China.

Mao's remarks came on the same day that China reportedly cancelled a ministerial-level meeting scheduled for this month with South Korea and Japan.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing, Mao said that Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan had "undermined the foundation and atmosphere" of the cooperation mechanism and "made the conditions of holding China-Japan-South Korea meetings temporarily unsuitable".

Takaichi recently told Japan's parliament that the country may deploy its military in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait.

Beijing regards Taiwan as part of China and has never renounced the use of force to reunify it with the mainland. It regarded Takaichi's comments as interference in its internal affairs.

Japan, in common with most countries, does not regard the island as an independent state.