China Marks Japan’s World War II Invasion

China on Thursday marked the 68th anniversary of the start of World War II fighting against Japanese invaders, commemorations that come at a time of tense relations with Tokyo.

A senior Communist Party leader, Li Changchun, attended a ceremony at a war memorial near the Marco Polo Bridge southwest of Beijing, where Japanese soldiers attacked Chinese forces on July 7, 1937.

A moment of silence was held for the millions of Chinese war dead, and 3,000 gray doves were released.

“The Chinese people, who refused to become slaves, rose up in arms and fought hard and tenaciously against Japanese aggressor troops, and won the complete victory against foreign aggression in modern times,” Liu Yunshan, another senior party figure, said in a speech.

Beijing’s relations with Tokyo are at their lowest point in decades. They have been soured by disputes over Japanese history textbooks, Tokyo’s campaign for a permanent U.N. Security Council seat and rivalry over undersea oil and gas resources.

China regards Japan as its main rival in the region. The Communist Party government regularly marks war anniversaries and keeps alive memories of Japanese aggression through schoolbooks and state media.

Beijing and Tokyo are linked by billions of dollars in trade, investment and aid. But many Chinese believe that Japan has never properly atoned for suffering inflicted on its neighbors before and during World War II.

China wants better relations with Japan, a Foreign Ministry official said.

“Harmony benefits both. Strife harms both,” ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at a news briefing.

But, he added, “we hope Japan takes a correct attitude toward history.”