China said it had lodged a strong protest with Japan about the meeting on the sidelines of the summit in South Korea, after Takaichi had posted about it on her X account and referred to Taiwan’s representative Lin Hsin-i as a senior adviser to the presidential office.

Lin, a former economy minister, told reporters in Taipei that all the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation delegations took part on an equal footing and all the leaders and representatives talked to each other.

“There’s nothing strange about it. There were a lot of these kinds of interactions,” he said, when asked about China’s anger at the meeting with Takaichi. “We had lots of interactions and communications with lots of leaders. It’s a very normal thing.”

Japan, like most countries, has no formal ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, but is a strong unofficial ally.

Apec is one of the very few international gatherings Taiwan takes part in, although its presidents do not attend.

Takaichi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to pursue constructive and stable ties at their meeting at Apec on Friday.

Before taking office, Takaichi suggested Japan could form a “quasi-security alliance” with Taiwan, and said that any contingency there would constitute an emergency for Japan and its ally, the US.

Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s claims over the island, saying only the Taiwanese people can decide their future.