BEIJING/KUNMING - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Japan to learn from history to earn respect and avoid straying onto the wrong path again on Friday, the 80th anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender in World War II.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while briefing the press after the tenth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Foreign Ministers' Meeting, clarifying China's position on historical issues.

"I would also like to reiterate China's position on this specific day," Wang said, noting that 80 years ago, Japan was defeated, accepted the Potsdam Proclamation, and announced its unconditional surrender.

The war of aggression waged by Japanese militarists inflicted immense suffering on the people of China and other Asian countries, and the Japanese people themselves also suffered deeply, he said.

"A series of international instruments, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, clearly defined Japan's responsibility for the war and required that Japan return the territories it had stolen from China, including Taiwan," Wang said, adding that this was the unchallengeable outcome of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and constitutes an important part of the post-war international order.

However, even to this day, some forces in Japan continue to glorify and deny their invasion, distort and fabricate history, and even seek to rehabilitate the names of war criminals, Wang said.

He pointed out that such actions are contemptible and self-defeating, challenging the United Nations Charter, the post-war international order, human conscience, and the people of all victorious nations.

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"Only by facing history squarely can respect be earned; only by drawing lessons from history can a better future be explored; only by remembering the past can straying onto the wrong path again be avoided. We urge Japan to make the right choice." Wang said. 

US slammed for 'whitewashing' Japan's war crimes

Also on Friday, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense Jiang Bin slammed the United States for whitewashing Japan's aggression and war crimes during World War II, calling it "a grave affront to historical justice and an insult to the feelings of those who suffered from the Japanese invasion".

Jiang made the remarks in response to a US State Department statement claiming that 80 years ago, the United States and Japan "concluded a devastating war in the Pacific".

"During WWII, Japanese fascists committed heinous crimes and inflicted untold suffering on people around the world, including the Americans. The US side seems to have 'amnesia' about this period of history," Jiang said.

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China urges the United States to abandon geopolitical calculations, uphold a correct historical view of WWII, and join the international community in safeguarding the post-WWII international order, Jiang said.