China on Tuesday expressed the hope that Sino-Japanese ties should move
headway as it staged activities marking the 70th anniversary of the War of
Resistance against Japan.
"At this point of time, we should keep in mind the spirit of 'taking history
as a mirror and looking to the future' and properly handle related issues so as
to maintain the momentum of developing China-Japan relations," said Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang.
China-Japan ties have become warmer recently as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao
made an "ice-thawing journey" to Japan in April and Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe made a "ice-breaking visit" to China in October last year.
This year is the 70th anniversary of "July 7 Incident", the beginning of the
War of Resistance against Japan in China, and the Nanjing Massacre. The massacre
occurred in December 1937 when Japanese troops occupied Nanjing, then capital of
China, and killed more than 300,000 Chinese.
"The reason why we choose not to forget the past is to cherish the hard-won
peace and happy life and open up a better future," Qin told a regular news
briefing.
