BEIJING - China on Saturday applauded the UN resolution on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, urging countries to explore effective ways to maintain international peace and security.

The resolution was adopted unanimously at the 69th session of the 193-member UN General Assembly on Thursday.

"China hopes various parties take the opportunity to reflect on history and reaffirm their commitments to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei in a statement.

"This is also an important consensus from the UN Security Council open debate held on Feb 23, which was chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the capacity of the council's rotating president," Hong said.

According to the resolution, the assembly asked its president to hold a special meeting in the second week of May 2015 in commemoration of war victims.