On July 5, 2013, Assistant Foreign Minister Le Yucheng attended the opening ceremony of the International Conference Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Cairo Declaration and made a keynote speech entitled "Enlighten the Reality, Foretell the Future".

Le Yucheng said, the Cairo Declaration has been a universally recognized important document of international law. It was a great achievement of the world anti-fascist forces' struggle against Japan. It has gone through the dramatic changes of the international situation for 70 years and its historical significance and far-reaching influence has not decreased at all. It is, until today, enlightening the reality and foretelling the future. Le pointed out that recently the right-wing forces in Japan had resurged, making troubles on historical issues including Japanese aggression, comfort women and the Yasukuni Shrine. They even publicly questioned the legal validity of the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration. It has caused serious disturbances to Japan's relations with other Asian countries. In September last year, regardless of the historical facts and international law, the Japanese government illegally "purchased" Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islands, which severely infringed the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China and led to a serious setback in China-Japan relations. The main objective of Japan's recent negative behaviors is to repudiate the history of its defeat at the end of the Second World War, to deny the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and to challenge the post-war international order.

Le Yucheng stressed that the Chinese government stands firm in its willpower and determination to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity. China always advocates to develop strategic and mutually beneficial China-Japan relations on the basis of the four political documents between China and Japan and in the spirit of "taking history as a mirror and facing the future." China hopes that Japan will squarely face the history and the reality, working with China for the same goal, properly manage the major issues in the bilateral relations through dialogues and consultations, and pull back China-Japan relations on the track of normal development at an early date.

Le Yucheng summarized what can be learned from the historical and present significances of the Cairo Declaration in three aspects:

Firstly, must bear history firmly in mind. In face of the historical lessons, we must place ourselves on constant alert and never allow the tragedy of wars to repeat itself. We urge the country that has inflicted harms on its Asian neighbours in history to shoulder its responsibilities on historical issues and completely break with its past militarism, so as to become a truly positive force that promotes Asia-Pacific peace and development.

Secondly, must steadfastly pursue the path of peaceful development. This path is in line with the will of the people; it is the right path with the support of the people in Asia and in the world. China hopes all Asian countries will abandon the Cold-War mentality, adhere to peaceful development, cooperative development and win-win development, and jointly create a better future for Asia.

Thirdly, must firmly safeguard world peace. Peace will not visit us from heaven of its own accord; it takes concerted efforts to create and safeguard peace. In particular, we must keep vigilant guard against the right-wing forces in Japan to prevent them from leading Japan astray and starting new wars and disasters in Asia. China will not bully others; at the same time, it will not allow itself to be bullied. No one should expect to see China swallow the bitter fruits that damage China's own interests. We believe that, with the joint efforts of the international community, peace and stability in Asia and in the world as a whole will be safeguarded. The sunshine of peace will be constantly cast on the Asian land.

The Conference was organized by the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), in collaboration with China Institute of Marine Affairs (CIMA) of the State Oceanic Administration and Museum of the Chinese People's Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Over 40 experts and scholars from the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, the Republic of Korea (ROC), Singapore, Australia and China's Taiwan, as well as envoys and diplomats from many countries and representatives from Chinese and foreign media, were present.