China on Tuesday expressed the hope that Sino-Japanese ties should move headway as it staged activities marking the 70th anniversary of the War of Resistance against Japan.

"At this point of time, we should keep in mind the spirit of 'taking history as a mirror and looking to the future' and properly handle related issues so as to maintain the momentum of developing China-Japan relations," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang.

China-Japan ties have become warmer recently as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao made an "ice-thawing journey" to Japan in April and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a "ice-breaking visit" to China in October last year.

This year is the 70th anniversary of "July 7 Incident", the beginning of the War of Resistance against Japan in China, and the Nanjing Massacre. The massacre occurred in December 1937 when Japanese troops occupied Nanjing, then capital of China, and killed more than 300,000 Chinese.

"The reason why we choose not to forget the past is to cherish the hard-won peace and happy life and open up a better future," Qin told a regular news briefing.