Chinese president urges BRICS to oppose historical revisionism

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the 7th BRICS summit in Ufa, Russia, July 9, 2015. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

UFA, Russia, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinpingon Thursday urged the BRICS countries to firmly oppose any attempts and actions that deny, distort and fabricate the history of the WWII and jointly safeguard the results of the WWII victory and international justice.

"Forgetting history means betrayal," Xi said at the 7th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit in the southwestern Russian city of Ufa.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-fascist War and the founding of the United Nations.

Xi said the BRICS nations should draw lesson from history, abandon the Cold War mentality and zero-sum game, to jointly safeguard world and regional peace and stability.

The Chinese president also called on BRICS nations to build a partnership to safeguard world peace, jointly guard against and combat all forms of terrorism and speed up the build-up of mechanism on anti-drug cooperation.

Though the trend of peace and development has gained stronger momentum, the world today still faces threats posed by regional turbulence and non-traditional challenges, including terrorism, drug, pandemic and natural disasters, said Xi.

He said the BRICS nations should pursue the common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept, enhance coordination and mutual support, and join hands to deal with those global challenges.

China supports the institutionalization of the anti-drug cooperation within the BRICS framework and will work with other members to push for the settlement of the world and regional drug issue, he said.

Xi said the willful use or threat of use of sanctions in handling international relations do not help to resolve the problems.

We are committed to promoting democratization of international relations, he said, calling for dialogue and negotiation in the settlement of disputes.

Xi arrived in Ufa, capital of Russia's Republic of Bashkortostan, on Wednesday to attend the seventh BRICS summit and the 15th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Heads of State Council.

It is Xi's third-time to attend the annual BRICS summit. The theme of this year's summit is "BRICS partnership: A powerful factor for global development."