Chinese leader 
Xi Jinping strongly criticized Japanese Prime Minister 
Sanae Takaichi over Japan's "remilitarization" during his Beijing summit with US President 
Donald Trump earlier this month. The conversation, in which Xi became visibly agitated and vocal over Japan's increased defense spending, was among the most heated parts of the summit — per a Financial Times account the Japan Times carried.
What did Xi say? In the heated exchange, Xi told Trump that Takaichi and Taiwan's 
William Lai pose a threat to regional peace and urged Trump not to support them — per a Yomiuri Shimbun account the Taipei Times carried, drawing on unidentified government sources. Trump administration officials were taken aback by the diatribe, as Japan had not featured in their pre-summit talks with Chinese counterparts, the Japan Times reported.
How did Trump respond? Trump defended Takaichi in the moment, expressing the view that she is not the kind of leader who deserves criticism, the Taipei Times reported. Hours after ending his two-day visit to China, Trump held a phone call with Takaichi in which the two leaders reaffirmed an "ironclad" bilateral alliance, Takaichi has said.
Why now? Japan's ties with China have deteriorated since Takaichi suggested last November that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo. Neither the Japanese prime minister's office, the foreign ministry nor the US embassy in Tokyo was immediately available for comment, per the Taipei Times.
Figures referenced: Xi Jinping, Sanae Takaichi, Donald Trump, Lai Ching-te. — JudgeMarket.
