China urges Japan to correct past mistakes

China Friday urged Japan to correct its past mistakes with practical actions as international D-Day commemorations were held.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily press briefing: "We again urge Japanese leaders to face up to and remember its aggression past, correct mistakes with tangible actions and win the trust of Asian neighbours and the international community."

International commemorations of the 70th anniversary of D-Day was held in Normandy, France, Xinhua reported.

Hong said as far as the Second World War is concerned, Europe has turned over a new page. Quoting an old Chinese saying, he said: "Past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the future."

"Germany has won world respect by sincerely apologising for its wrong-doing," he said.

"Yet leaders of Japan, a defeated country in World War II, are still attempting to deny its past and challenge the post-war international order, thus their acts are widely condemned by the international community," he added.