Full Text: Premier Li Keqiang Meets the Press (9)

Asahi Shimbun: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. I would like to ask your outlook on history, Mr. Premier. We have also seen that more Chinese tourists have traveled to Japan and bought a lot of things there, but the number of Japanese tourists visiting China as well as Japanese investment in China have both declined. How do you see such a situation? How do you view the possible impact of China's planned commemoration activities, including the military parade, on the sentiments of the Japanese people?

Li Keqiang: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Not only China but also many countries in the world have planned to hold diverse forms of commemoration activities. The purpose of these activities is to firmly bear in mind the hard lessons gained from the past and ensure that that kind of history will never repeat itself. The purpose is to uphold the outcomes of the Second World War and the post-war international order and international laws so as to uphold enduring peace of mankind.

It is true that the current China-Japan relationship is in difficulty. The crux of the issue is how that war and that part of history are viewed. One needs to hold a right outlook on history, meaning one needs to take history as a mirror and look to the future. For leaders of a country, while inheriting the historical achievements made by their predecessors, they also need to shoulder the historical responsibilities for crimes committed by past generations. The war of aggression imposed on the Chinese people by the Japanese militarists brought untold sufferings, and the average people in Japan were also victims of that war. At such a critical moment this year, China-Japan relationship faces both a test and an opportunity. If leaders of Japan can face history squarely and maintain consistency in how they view that part of history, there will be a new opportunity for improvement and growth of China-Japan relations. It will also create favorable conditions for the growth of business relationship between the two countries.