Settle wartime grievances German ambassador to China urges Beijing, Tokyo
German ambassador urges China, Japan to make effort to settle decades-old wartime grievances
China and Japan should learn from European countries in reaching out to settle their disputes over wartime grievances, according to German ambassador to China, Michael Clauss, as Beijing prepares to commemorate the end of the second world war later this year.
"Our feeling is that reconciliation in Europe, especially between Germany and France, but also between Germany and Poland, could be a model in this region," Clauss told the South China Morning Post.
"That means both sides will have to make an effort and be willing for reconciliation, in this case, Japan and China."
Beijing will stage a series of events this year to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the war.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a UN Security Council meeting on Monday that the peaceful post-war order must be preserved, but that some nations were trying to whitewash the facts of the second world war.
"Although the historical facts have long been made clear on the war against fascism, there are still some who are reluctant to recognise the truth and even try to … whitewash past crimes of aggression," Wang said.
Ties between China and Japan have been strained in recent years, particularly since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's December 2013 visit to the main shrine to the country's war dead, among them convicted war criminals.