China insisted yesterday that Tokyo must first show “concrete actions” after Japan’s newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said she was “open to various dialogues” with Beijing, effectively rejecting her overtures.

Those actions included a retraction of Takaichi’s November comments that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any Chinese attack on self-ruled island Taiwan, which have fuelled a months-long diplomatic stand-off with Beijing.

A day after winning a landslide election, Takaichi told reporters Japan was “open to various dialogues with China”.

Asked about her comments yesterday, China’s foreign ministry said “genuine dialogue should be built on respect for one another”.