China to develop friendly cooperation with Iran despite int'l changes: Xi

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that China will unswervingly develop friendly cooperation with Iran no matter how international and regional situation changes.

Xi made the remarks when meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit in Russia's Kazan, the first held since the group's expansion earlier this year which saw several new members including Iran joining the emerging-market cooperative mechanism.

At the meeting, Xi expressed his pleasure of making President Pezeshkian's acquaintance, saying that China will never waver in its readiness to develop friendly cooperation with Iran.

"Iran is a country with important regional and international influence, and it is also a good friend and partner of China. As transformations of the world unseen in a century are unfolding at a faster pace, the strategic significance of China-Iran relations has become more prominent. I have said on many occasions that no matter how the international and regional situation changes, China will unswervingly develop friendly cooperation with Iran. We congratulate on and welcome Iran's participation in the BRICS Summit for the first time as a full member and stand ready to enhance cooperation with Iran within the framework of the BRICS cooperative mechanism," Xi said.

Pezeshkian also expressed Iran's willingness to carry out more cooperation with China within the framework of the BRICS mechanism.

"I'm very pleased to meet you. It's an honor for me. Iran has become a full member of BRICS. We thank China for supporting Iran's formal accession to the BRICS cooperative mechanism. Our two countries can cooperate more within this framework," he said.

China to develop friendly cooperation with Iran despite int'l changes: Xi

China to develop friendly cooperation with Iran despite int'l changes: Xi

China to develop friendly cooperation with Iran despite int'l changes: Xi

China to develop friendly cooperation with Iran despite int'l changes: Xi

China to develop friendly cooperation with Iran despite int'l changes: Xi

International guests who have dedicated their lives to historical truth joined China's 12th national memorial event honoring the hundreds of thousands of victims killed by Japanese troops in the Nanjing Massacre during World War II.

The memorial was held on Saturday at the public square of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province. China's national flag was flown at half-mast in the presence the crowd that included survivors of the massacre, local students, and international guests.

In one of the most barbaric episodes during WWII, the Nanjing Massacre took place when Japanese troops captured the then-Chinese capital Nanjing on Dec 13, 1937. Over the course of six weeks, they proceeded to kill approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers.

Joining the crowd was Christoph Reinhardt, the great-grandson of John Rabe (1882-1950) who was then a representative of German conglomerate Siemens in the war-ravaged Nanjing. During the Nanjing Massacre, Rabe set up an international safety zone with other foreigners, and they together saved the lives of around 250,000 Chinese people between 1937 and 1938 from the Japanese invaders.

Throughout the massacre, Rabe continued to keep a diary. To this day, all his pages remain one of the most comprehensive historical records of the atrocities committed by the Japanese aggressors.

Sayoko Yamauchi, who was also in the crowd of mourners, arrived in Nanjing on Friday from Japan's Osaka to attend Saturday's ceremony, just as she has done almost every year since China designated Dec 13 as the National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre in 2014.

Yamauchi's grandfather was one of the Japanese soldiers who invaded Nanjing in January 1938. However, since first setting foot in Nanjing in 1987, she has dedicated herself to uncovering and spreading the truth about Japan's history of aggression and enlightening the Japanese public about their country's wartime atrocities.

In 2014, ahead of China's first National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre, Yamauchi, along with 10 other individuals, received an award for her special contribution to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.

By attending the grand memorial event, Reinhardt and Yamauchi both said they hope to convey a message of remembering history and cherishing peace.

"This is my fifth visit to China, and Nanjing, and the third times I visited the ceremony. I have a wish that these survivors survive again and again and again. But my other wish is that the families of the survivors, that they transport the information, the right intention like their ancestors, because anyone must hold a hand (during) this remembering," Reinhardt told China Central Television (CCTV) in an interview before the event began on Saturday.

"Our delegation is on its 20th visit to China, coming to Nanjing to express our heartfelt condolences to those who perished 88 years ago, to remember this history, and to reflect on what we can do for a new future. That's why we are here," Yamauchi told CCTV on board the bus that took her to a local hotel in Nanjing on Friday evening.

Int'l guests call for remembering history at China's national event honoring Nanjing Massacre victims