China has strongly disagreed with an "arrogant" and "prejudiced" statement on Taiwan by the Group of Seven, urging Beijing not to threaten or use force.
In a joint statement by G7 foreign ministers issued after their three-day meeting in Karuizawa, Japan, diplomats said there had been "no change" in the bloc's position on the self-governing island.
"We remind China of the need to uphold the purposes and principles of the [United Nations] Charter and to refrain from threats, coercion, intimidation or the use of force... We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion," it said. in the communiqué.
The ministers also said there was "no legal basis for China's major maritime claims in the South China Sea," where it is involved in a series of long-standing disputes with neighboring countries, and they "opposed China's militarization of the region."
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded by saying that Taiwan is a "sacred and inalienable" part of China's territory and warned against interference by "external forces" in its internal affairs.
"The corresponding statement is full of arrogance, superstition and sinister intentions to oppose China and restrain it," said Wang Wenbin, an official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at another press conference in Beijing.
"The G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting ignored China's solemn position and objective facts, grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, and maliciously slandered and discredited China."
China also said it made "remarks" to Japan, which was hosting the meeting.
What preceded
The G7 talks followed the latest exercises by the People's Liberation Army around Taiwan in response to a meeting between its leader Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California, which Beijing saw as a serious violation of its sovereignty.
But unlike the large-scale drills that followed former Speaker Nancy Pelosi's August stop in Taipei, this round of exercises did not involve actual missiles.
It also came shortly after French President Emmanuel Macron wrapped up a state visit to China, during which he said Europe should not become an American "vassal" or become embroiled in the confrontation between Beijing and Washington over Taiwan.