China warned against a return of Japanese militarism at a memorial ceremony Saturday honoring victims of a wartime massacre, while refraining from directly criticizing Japan’s leader amid escalating tensions between the two nations.

Speaking at a ceremony in Nanjing, Politburo member Shi Taifeng recounted the violence of the Japanese capture of the city in December 1937. He said that under the leadership of the Communist Party, China had then beaten the invaders and become a great nation.

Shi, who heads the party’s powerful organization department, also said that any attempt to revive “militarism” and undermine the postwar order would fail. While he didn’t mention Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi by name, that’s likely a reference to the view in China that her push for stronger national defense reflects a desire to revive the country’s past militarist policies.

“History has proven and will continue to prove that any attempt to revive militarism, challenge the postwar international order, and undermine world peace and stability is doomed to failure,” said Shi at the gathering of about 8,000 people.

Shi’s criticism contrasts with a speech last year by fellow Politburo member Li Shulei, who said the Chinese and Japanese were “partners” who posed no threat to each other. The difference reflects a more strained tone in bilateral relations in 2025 following Takaichi’s appointment as prime minister, as ties have cooled in recent weeks.

This year is the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, with Beijing hosting a mass military parade in September to celebrate Japan’s defeat and exit from the continent.

China claims that 300,000 people were killed after the fall of Nanjing, which was the capital of the Republic of China. That claim for the number of dead is disputed by some historians.

The city of Nanjing came to a standstill at 10 a.m. at the start of this year’s ceremony, with sirens blaring and car horns sounding to commemorate the dead on a gray, cold and damp morning.

The memorial day and ceremony began in 2014, the same year that Sept. 3 was declared as “Victory Day.” It’s part of a broader campaign which both emphasizes the suffering of the Chinese people during the war, and positions the Communist Party as responsible for the victory over Japan — and therefore as a central actor in the postwar world order.

“China will never allow Japan’s right-wing forces to turn back the wheel of history, never allow external forces to lay their hands on China’s Taiwan region, and never allow the resurgence of Japan’s militarism,” said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun on Friday.

That campaign is also aimed at shoring up Beijing’s claim over self-ruled Taiwan, which was a Japanese colony until 1945, and ultimately became the refuge for the Republic of China when it lost a civil war to the communists under Mao Zedong. China claims that the island is its territory and has vowed to take control, including by the use of force.

Taiwan’s status has returned to the spotlight. In November, Takaichi said that if China were to attack Taiwan, it could be threatening enough to Japan that it could order its own military to intervene.

China’s government has reacted angrily to that, demanding that Takaichi retract the remarks, blocking some imports, telling its citizens not to visit Japan and cutting the number of flights. Japan has also warned its citizens to be careful in China, especially around the time of events such as Saturday’s memorial ceremony.

(Tian Ying.contributed to this report.)

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