A senior official said on Friday that China firmly adheres to the path of peaceful development, calling on both China and Japan to cherish the good momentum in bilateral ties in the new era.

Huang Kunming, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, said China has always firmly defended world peace and pursues independent and peaceful foreign policy, and will continue to contribute to the world peace and stability in the new era.

Huang made the remarks at a memorial held in Nanjing to remember those massacred in the ancient city in 1937 by invading Japanese troops. Some 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers were killed over six weeks after the Japanese army captured the city in December that year.

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"Today we are gathering here to remember the soldiers and people who fought for peace, and we must remember history, cherish peace and adhere to the peaceful development path," Huang said.

China has made tremendous achievements in the past 70 years, and today no forces could undermine status or stop the Chinese people and nation from marching forward, he went on to say.

In the new era, China will stay on the path of peaceful development and continue to open up and pursue a mutually benefit strategy, he stressed.

China hopes to work with people from all over the world to jointly build a community with a shared future for humankind, he added.

He also called on both China and Japan to strengthen the bilateral ties.

Both countries have entered a new era and both sides should cherish the positive momentum in the bilateral ties and strengthen mutual political trust, he said.

The two countries should learn from history and face up to the future, and work jointly to improve ties and advance the bilateral relations along the right track, he added.