China considers Japanese leaders' visits to the Yasukuni Shrine as a "serious" political issue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said in Beijing Tuesday.

Kong made the remarks at a regular press conference in response to a question concerning Japanese leaders' visits to the Yasukuni Shrine.

"The visits are related to the matters of whether Japan can keep its promise and look back to history with a serious attitude, " Kong said, adding that it is also a matter of whether Japan can go through with its commitment to develop in a peaceful way.

Regarding Sino-Japanese relations, Kong said that China attaches great importance to it; however, "China strongly opposes Japanese top leaders' visits to the Yasukuni Shrine."

As the Yasukuni Shrine honors Class-A war criminals of the World War Two, Kong noted that Japanese leaders should respect the feelings of the people from its victim counties.

China and Japan have reiterated on many times that bilateral relations should be based on the principle of "taking history as a mirror and looking forward to the future", Kong said, urging Japan to honor its oral expression to win the trust of people in China, other Asian countries and the international community with actual deeds.

Source: Xinhua