China on Friday urged Japan to confront its colonial rule over Taiwan and withdraw recent comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that Beijing says interfere in its internal affairs.

China's defence ministry said on Thursday that Japan will have to pay a "painful price" if it steps out of line over Taiwan, responding to Japanese plans to deploy missiles on an island some 100 km (62 miles) from Taiwan's coast.

President Trump spoke with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week, and the Chinese government said Xi outlined what it called China’s "principled" position on Taiwan. The self-governing democracy of 23 million has never been part of Communist China,

That role also means a war over Taiwan could be "cataclysmic," the report warned, potentially "wiping out as much as 10 percent of global GDP"—an unprecedented economic hit in modern times. The authors said the ramifications of such a scenario could be "on par with the 2008 Global Financial Crisis."

China warned on Wednesday it would "crush" any foreign attempts to interfere over Taiwan, after Japan announced plans to deploy missiles on an island near democratically-governed Taiwan.

In an unusual diplomatic move, Chinese leader Xi Jinping initiated a phone call with President Trump on Monday to discuss Taiwan, a flashpoint that has surged to the forefront in recent days as Japan takes a more assertive stance on the island’s autonomy.