Image: Wikimedia Commons. Chinese leader Xi Jinping in 2024.- FT reported that Xi Jinping strongly criticized Japan’s defense buildup during his May 14–15 Beijing summit with Donald Trump.
- Yomiuri/Reuters reporting adds that Xi criticized Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te as threats to regional peace.
- No public official readout gives a verbatim Xi quote, so the claim should be treated as credible diplomatic reporting, not confirmed transcript text.
A new report says Chinese leader Xi Jinping strongly criticized Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Japan’s “remilitarization” during his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing earlier this month.
The claim is credible, but not from an official transcript. The source trail points mainly to Financial Times reporting, backed by related Yomiuri and Reuters coverage, citing people familiar with the meeting.
What was reported
The Financial Times reported that Xi “railed against” Japan’s remilitarization during the Trump summit, describing a heated exchange about Japan’s rising defense posture. Bloomberg summarized the FT report as saying Xi attacked Japan’s rearmament during the summit.
Separately, Reuters reported Yomiuri’s account that Trump backed Takaichi after Xi criticized her during the meeting. According to that report, Xi described Takaichi and Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te as threats to regional peace, while Trump reportedly defended Takaichi.
The exact phrase “remilitarization” appears to be the reporting frame, not a verified direct Xi quote from a public readout.
The summit timeline
The Beijing summit took place on May 14–15, 2026. Brookings and CSIS both refer to Trump’s visit to China and summit with Xi on those dates. That matches the “earlier this month” phrasing in the viral claim.
Public analysis of the summit focused heavily on U.S.-China trade, technology controls, stability signals and Iran. The Japan exchange appears to have emerged through later diplomatic reporting rather than the main official summit readouts.
Image: Government of Japan / Wikimedia Commons. Official portrait of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.Why Takaichi is the flashpoint
Sanae Takaichi has been Japan’s prime minister since October 2025. China-Japan relations deteriorated after she told Japan’s Diet that a Taiwan Strait contingency could amount to a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially triggering collective self-defense.
Brookings notes that Beijing condemned those comments as crossing a political red line and followed with diplomatic protests and punitive measures. From China’s perspective, Japan’s higher defense spending and Taiwan contingency language are framed as remilitarization. From Tokyo’s perspective, the shift is defensive and tied to China’s military pressure around Taiwan and the East China Sea.
What is confirmed — and what is not
Confirmed: Trump and Xi met in Beijing on May 14–15. Takaichi is Japan’s prime minister. China has publicly criticized her Taiwan-related comments and Japan’s defense posture for months. Credible outlets report that Xi raised the issue strongly with Trump.
Not confirmed publicly: a verbatim Xi quote from the summit. Neither Chinese nor U.S. official readouts reviewed here include a public line saying Xi criticized Takaichi over “remilitarization.” That detail rests on anonymous-source diplomatic reporting.
NoDechev rating: credible report, not official transcript. The claim matches FT/Yomiuri/Reuters-style reporting and fits the wider China-Japan rift, but the wording should be attributed to reporting rather than presented as a public Xi quote.
Ready social post
FT reports Xi Jinping strongly criticized Japan’s “remilitarization” and PM Sanae Takaichi during his Beijing summit with Trump. The story is credible diplomatic reporting, but not a public transcript: no official readout gives a verbatim Xi quote.
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