Chinese VP concludes Spain visit

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng concluded his visit to Spain running from June 10 to 12, pledging to deepen the strategic partnership and enhance cooperation between the two countries.

During the visit, Han met with Spanish King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid, on Thursday and Wednesday respectively.

When meeting with King Felipe VI, Han conveyed President Xi Jinping's greetings to the king, saying that China appreciates the Spanish royal family's long-standing support for the development of China-Spain relations.

China is willing to further strengthen cooperation with Spain in new energy, agricultural and food products, electric vehicles, and digital economy, and intensify people-to-people exchanges in the cultural and educational sectors, Han said.

China and Spain share similar views and ideas on many major international issues, and are important positive forces in defending multilateralism, upholding free trade rules and order, promoting openness and cooperation, and improving global governance, Han said.

China is ready to work with Spain and Europe to enhance communication and dialog, jointly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core, and contribute to world peace, stability and development, Han added.

King Felipe VI asked Han to convey his greetings to President Xi Jinping.

Recalling his pleasant visits to China, the king said that the two countries have carried out frequent high-level exchanges this year, with continuously deepened political mutual trust and fruitful outcomes in practical cooperation, and the bilateral relations have shown positive momentum of development.

The king said Spain is ready to further strengthen cooperation with China to advance bilateral ties, adding that the world today is undergoing complex changes and China is playing an important, active and stabilizing role in this process.

Spain supports multilateralism and free trade, is willing to enhance communication and coordination with China in multilateral institutions, jointly safeguard international multilateral trade order and rules, and promote sustainable global development, he said.

When meeting with Sanchez, Han recalled the Spanish prime minister's latest visit to China in April, the third in three years, during which he had profound exchanges with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. The two sides agreed to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, maintain the free trade order, and safeguard international equity and justice, and underscoring the vital significance of China-Spain relations in promoting global stability and prosperity, Han added.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Spain. Han said China is ready to take this opportunity to work with the Spanish side to maintain high-level exchanges, and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation.

Against the backdrop of the current volatile international situation, China and Europe should enhance solidarity and cooperation, maintain multilateralism and free trade, Han said, adding that such efforts are not only beneficial to China and Europe, but also conducive to stabilizing the global economy.

Han also expressed his hope that Spain will play an active role in pushing forward the sound and steady development of China-Europe relations.

Sanchez said China's adherence and commitment to multilateralism are particularly valuable at a time when unilateralism and protectionism are harming all countries' interests.

The Spanish government upholds the one-China policy and welcomes more Chinese businesses to invest in Spain, he added.

Sanchez also expressed the Spanish government's willingness to play an active role in boosting Europe-China relations.

During his visit, Han also met with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares.

He also attended a welcome banquet held by Chinese and Spanish business communities and delivered a speech, saying that China is determined to expand its high-level opening-up and actively supports the two countries' enterprises to strengthen economic, trade and investment cooperation.

Han also paid a visit to Sevilla, the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia, and had in-depth and friendly exchanges with Juanma Moreno, president of the regional government of Andalusia.

Chinese VP concludes Spain visit

Japan should better inform its younger generations about its history of aggression during World War II (WWII) to raise anti-war awareness in society, according to descendants of Japanese invaders in China during WWII.

On July 7, 1937, Japanese troops attacked Chinese forces at the Lugou Bridge on the outskirts of Beijing, marking the beginning of Japan's full-scale invasion of China and China's nationwide resistance against the Japanese invaders, initiating a whole-of-nation war effort that opened the main Eastern battlefield in the global war against fascism.

In a recent interview with China Media Group, Kuroi Akio, one of the five descendants who visited China last year for an apology tour, warned about the lack of information in today's education system regarding Japan's wartime invasion of China and other Asian countries.

"Three years ago, I asked a group of children between the ages of six and 10 if Japan had ever been in a war and where it was fought. About 70 children raised their hands, so I asked them one by one. Every child answered 'America,' and not one mentioned any other country. The children knew about the war with the United States and the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, they didn't know about Japan's invasions of China, the Korean Peninsula, China's Taiwan region, Indonesia, and the Philippines. This is the reality, and that's why the education in Japan is so hopeless," said Kuroi, who knelt down before the Chinese people during his apology tour in northeast China's Jilin Province last September.

Kurokawa Yasuko, another descendant, also called for better education in Japan about its wartime history, saying it was essential for a properly informed public opinion.

"I think that [the lack of war history education] is wrong. It's important to teach students the history of Japan's invasion to others in the modern world, otherwise the public opinion of this country will be steered in the wrong direction," she said.

"We hope to create a strong anti-war public opinion in Japan. My activities are called 'micro-power' in Japan, a tiny power indeed, but by gathering voices of support and agreement, such drops of water will become a stream, a river, and eventually an ocean. Without a peaceful future, mankind can't survive. Humanity's future can only be realized through the belief in peace," Kuroi said.

Japan should better inform younger generations about its wartime atrocities: WWII descendants