China to Japan: We’ve no reason to be apologetic

China told Japan bluntly on Sunday that it had nothing to apologise for after weeks of anti-Japanese protests, some violent, in cities acros...

China told Japan bluntly on Sunday that it had nothing to apologise for after weeks of anti-Japanese protests, some violent, in cities across the country.

The Chinese are furious at a revised Japanese school textbook they say whitewashes atrocities during Japan’s 1931-45 occupation of China and at Tokyo’s bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing told his visiting Japanese counterpart, Nobutaka Machimura, that China was willing to continue to develop China-Japan relations taking history as a mirror. ‘‘The Chinese government has never done anything for which it

has to apologise to the Japanese people,’’ he said.

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‘‘The main problem now is that the Japanese government has done a series of things that have hurt the feelings of the Chinese people on the Taiwan issue, some international issues including human rights and especially in its treatment of history.’’

Machimura flew to China on Sunday to try to heal relations as new anti-Japan protests erupted in cities across the country a day after violent demonstrations in Shanghai. The Minister demanded that China deal with the problem swiftly and sincerely in accordance with international rules, Japan’s Kyodo news agency quoted him as saying.

China has come under fire for tacitly encouraging the anti-Japanese unrest but Beijing denies the charge and has pointed the finger at Tokyo’s failure to own up to its past. But authorities have pledged to protect Japanese businesses and nationals in China.

In the third weekend of violent protests, thousands marched on Saturday to Japan’s consulate in Shanghai, smashing windows, pelting it with paint bombs and eggs and attacking Japanese restaurants along the way.

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Relations between the two Asian powerhouses are at their worst in decades and China’s official Xinhua news agency put the number of protesters in Shanghai at 20,000. —Reuters