Chinese President Hu Jintao said that the nation's emphasis on the need to always remember the past does "not mean to continue the hatred."

    "Instead, we want to draw lessons from history and be forward-looking," Hu said, stressing that "only by remembering thepast and drawing lessons from it can one avoid the repetition of historical tragedies."

    He pointed out that for a long time, there have been forces in Japan that have categorically denied the aggressive nature of the war Japan launched against China and the crimes it committed, and have tried their best to whitewash its militarist aggression and call back the spirit of those Class A war criminals who have been condemned by history.

    "Such actions have not only breached the Japanese Government's commitment regarding historical issues, but also shaken the political foundation of the Sino-Japanese relations, thus badly hurting the feelings of the Chinese and other Asian peoples concerned," Hu said.

    "We hope that the Japanese Government and its leaders will, with a highly responsible attitude toward history, the people and the future, and proceeding from the overall interest of the Sino-Japanese friendship, regional stability and development of Asia, handle historical issues in a serious and prudent manner andtranslate the apologies and remorse they have expressed for that war of aggression into concrete actions."

    Hu also reaffirmed that the policy of the Chinese Government to carry forward the Sino-Japanese friendship and cooperation "remains unchanged."

    "We will steadfastly seek proper settlement of our differences through dialogue and equal-footed negotiations, strengthen our exchanges and cooperation in a broad range of areas and step up friendly interactions between the two peoples for greater mutual understanding and broader common interests," he said.

    Both China and Japan are influential countries in Asia and around the world. In the long course of China-Japan relations over two millenniums, friendship has been the mainstream.

    The war of aggression against China launched by Japanese militarism in modern times not only brought enormous calamity to the Chinese people, but also inflicted dire misery on the Japanese people. It was only a small group of Japanese militarists who planned and launched the war, Hu said.

    After the end of the war, many Japanese from all walks of life faced squarely the historical fact that Japanese militarists had launched the war of aggression against foreign countries and strongly denounced the atrocities Japanese aggressors had committed in China. Many Japanese soldiers who participated in the war of aggression repented of their crimes of war with all sincerity and henceforth they have done a lot to promote the friendship between Japan and China.

    "Their conscience and courage are highly commendable," the Chinese president said.

    The Chinese Government has always attached importance to Sino-Japanese relations, stayed committed to the policy of promoting the Sino-Japanese friendship and made unremitting efforts to that end. Since the founding of New China, the Chinese Government and people have worked hard to improve the bilateral ties between China and Japan and carry forward the traditional friendship between the two peoples.

    "Together with farsighted Japanese political figures and personages from various walks of life, we normalized relations between our two countries," Hu said, adding that over the years, Sino-Japanese relations have kept developing, trade and economic cooperation expanding, and personnel exchanges increasing.

    "All this gives expression to the shared desire of our two peoples for peace, friendship and mutual development."

    It is also the result of the joint efforts of Chinese and Japanese leadership of several generations and personages of vision, and "we have every reason to cherish and painstakingly cultivate our friendship."

    "We are committed to promoting the Sino-Japanese friendship andcooperation in the 21st century with real actions, so as to ensuresound and steady growth of Sino-Japanese relations and lasting friendship between the two peoples for generations to come," Hu said.

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