Beijing urged Tokyo on Friday to repent and correct its mistakes and take practical actions to safeguard the political foundation of China-Japan relationship.

Japan's government released its annual Diplomatic Bluebook on Friday, revising its description of China from "one of Japan's most important bilateral relations" — a phrase used until last year — to simply "an important neighbor."

Commenting on the change of the description, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that the root cause of the current situation of China-Japan relationship lies in the erroneous remarks made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan.

Such remarks undermined the political foundation of bilateral ties, and challenged the post-war international order, she said.

Japan should honor the four political documents between the two countries and the commitment it has made, Mao said.