China bought more from Japan in December than at any point in the last three years, customs data showed on Wednesday, even as Beijing's sharper rhetoric over comments out of Tokyo about Taiwan fuelled fears Beijing could restrict trade ties.

China has banned exports to Japan of dual-use goods for military purposes. The move comes at a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and Tokyo.

Despite these tensions, China still ranks as Japan’s largest trading partner. Extended export restrictions could shave a noticeable amount off Japan’s GDP, hundreds of billions of yen in losses and impacts on manufacturing sectors. China’s decision is a deliberate geopolitical signal in an increasingly tense East Asia.

A Japanese mining ship departed on Monday for a remote coral atoll to probe mud rich in rare earths, part of Tokyo's drive to curb its reliance on China for critical minerals as Beijing tightens supply.

A week in which longtime tensions between neighbors China and Japan ratcheted up economically and politically is drawing to a close with no sign of improvements

China is opening an anti-dumping investigation into Japan over a chemical used in the manufacturing of semiconductors, it announced on Wednesday.

Japan doesn’t seem likely to develop nuclear weapons in the short-term. However, the tensions that triggered this episode are not likely to end soon. This raises questions about the feasibility of a Japanese nuclear programme and the sustainability of Japan’s non-nuclear position.

China has escalated its trade tensions with Japan by launching an investigation into imported dichlorosilane, a chemical gas used in making semiconductors

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will host South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in her hometown on Tuesday, in a summit meant to stabilize ties between the two sometime-rivals as Japan's worries about Chinese power in Asia grows.