China dismisses Japanese PM's intention to explain shrine visit

China on Tuesday dismissed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's intention to explain his visit to the war-related Yasukuni Shrine, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. "The Japanese leader showed his stance of trying to reverse the history of aggression and the Class-A war criminals through his actions," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a press briefing in Beijing, to comment on Abe's willingness to seek dialogue with China and South Korea. Abe said in Tokyo on Monday that he wantED to directly explain Chinese and South Korean leaders the intention of his visit to the shrine, and that the door to dialogue is open. "The Japanese leader will lead his country along a dangerous and wrong path if he does not have a correct understanding of Japan's history of militaristic aggression, and does not stick to peaceful development with a responsible attitude, policy and moves," she said. Last month, Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, drawing strong criticism from China and South Korea. He was the first premier in office to visit the controversial shrine since 2006. The shrine honors 14 World War II Class-A war criminals along with 2.5 million war dead. For China and South Korea, which suffered from Japan's aggression in the early 20th century, the Yasukuni Shrine is a symbol of its militant past and consider visits to the shrine by leading Japanese politicians insensitive and insulting.