National Defense University of the Chinese People's Liberation Army: Firmly Defend the Historical Contribution of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression to the Victory of the World Anti-Fascist War
The World Anti-Fascist War was a great struggle in which justice triumphed over evil, light over darkness, and progress over reaction. In multiple speeches, General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that the great Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression opened the primary eastern theater of the World Anti-Fascist War; it was a critical component of that global war and made a momentous contribution to its victory. We must fully recognize the major contributions made by the Chinese People's War of Resistance to the great cause of world peace, remember the years of suffering and war, cherish the victory won through bloodshed, and remain firm as guardians of historical memory, partners in development and rejuvenation, and defenders of international equity and justice.
I. The Chinese theater was the primary eastern theater of the World Anti-Fascist War, making a glorious historical contribution to the defense of peace and the resistance against Fascism.
Fascism was an evil force in modern human history. General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed: "From the very beginning, the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression carried the momentous significance of saving human civilization and defending world peace; it was a critical component of the World Anti-Fascist War." This is a profound insight into the global significance of China's resistance.
The Chinese theater saw the earliest start, the longest duration, the greatest number of Japanese troops resisted and eliminated, and the heaviest price paid; it played a decisive role in the total collapse of the Japanese invaders. The barbaric aggression of Japanese militarism provoked the brave resistance of the Chinese people. The September 18th Incident became the starting point of the Chinese People's War of Resistance and raised the curtain on the World Anti-Fascist War. The July 7th Incident [1] marked the beginning of China's full-scale national resistance, thereby opening the primary eastern theater of the World Anti-Fascist War. During the period of Japan's strategic offensive and China's strategic defense, the two sides deployed a total strength of over 4 million troops across a frontline exceeding 1,800 kilometers. The flames of war spread across more than ten provinces and regions in China, covering a war zone of approximately 1.6 million square kilometers, with a population of up to 400 million directly or indirectly involved. In this war, the Chinese theater wiped out over 1.5 million Japanese troops, accounting for more than 70% of the total casualties suffered by the Japanese military during World War II. Following Japan's defeat, a total of over 1.28 million Japanese troops surrendered to China, representing more than 50% of the total Japanese forces surrendering overseas at that time. To resist Japanese aggression, the Chinese nation suffered staggering casualties. According to incomplete statistics, Chinese military and civilian casualties exceeded 35 million; adjusted to 1937 values, direct economic losses exceeded 100 billion USD, and indirect economic losses exceeded 500 billion USD. The powerful, protracted resistance and the immense attrition inflicted by the Chinese theater on the Japanese invading army accelerated the demise of Japanese Fascism.
The Chinese theater actively promoted strategic cooperation among the Allied powers and played an important role in establishing the International Anti-Fascist United Front. The threat of German, Italian, and Japanese Fascism was global; defeating it required strengthened global cooperation. In March 1937, Comrade Mao Zedong profoundly pointed out: "We advocate for China, Britain, the United States, France, and the Soviet Union to establish a Pacific united front; otherwise, there is a danger of being defeated by the enemy one by one." In February 1938, Comrade Mao Zedong called again: "Now is the time for China and the United States, together with all other countries opposing the threat of aggression, to further unite against the enemy." Comrade Mao Zedong's correct propositions were like a beacon in the dark, illuminating the correct path for the global anti-fascist struggle. On New Year's Day 1942, led by China, the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union, 26 nations signed the Declaration by United Nations in Washington, marking the formal establishment of the International Anti-Fascist United Front. Three days after the signing, the China Theater was formally established to exercise unified command over Allied forces in China as well as in countries such as Vietnam and Thailand. Thus, through more than a decade of heroic struggle resisting Japanese Fascism alone, the Chinese people made a major contribution to the establishment of the International Anti-Fascist United Front.
Strategically, the Chinese theater supported the operations of the Allied forces and played an important role in strategic coordination for the victory of other theaters in the World Anti-Fascist War. The reason the Chinese theater is hailed as the primary eastern theater is also due to the significant strategic value it demonstrated. "Northward Advance" and "Southward Advance" were the strategic plans formulated by the Axis powers, Germany and Japan, for the East. However, the continuous and powerful resistance in the Chinese theater contained Japan's "Northward" plan to invade Siberia—enabling the Soviet Union to avoid a two-front war—and also pinned down and delayed Japan's "Southward" pace in attacking Southeast Asia. Soviet Marshal Vasily Chuikov once remarked that Japan did not attack the Soviet Union during our most difficult years of war, but instead "drowned China in a sea of blood"; anyone who slightly respects objective facts cannot ignore this obvious and indisputable truth. Even during the extremely difficult stalemate stage when large areas of territory had fallen, the Chinese government, acting on the strategic needs of the international anti-fascist alliance, resolutely dispatched elite troops to form the Expeditionary Force. They rushed to Burma (Myanmar) to fight alongside Allied forces against Japan. As an important strategic base for Allied operations against Japan in the Asia-Pacific, China provided airfields, ports, vast amounts of strategic materials, and military intelligence, supporting the Allied struggle in terms of manpower, material, and financial resources. China’s protracted war of resistance not only won precious strategic preparation time for anti-fascist nations like the Soviet Union, the US, and Britain but also played a vital role in ensuring the implementation of the Allies' "Europe First" grand strategy.
(Caption: From August 1940 to January the following year, the Eighth Route Army launched the Hundred Regiments Offensive against the Japanese army. This was the largest and longest-lasting strategic offensive campaign launched by the Eighth Route Army in North China since the start of the national resistance. The photo shows an Eighth Route Army machine-gun position during the bloody battle at Shinaoshan in Shanxi during the first stage of the campaign. Photo by Xinhua News Agency)
The Chinese theater actively supported the anti-fascist struggles of Asian peoples, becoming a banner for anti-fascism in the Asian theater. As the primary eastern theater, China provided immense support to the anti-fascist struggles of people across Asia. The Communist Party of China (CPC) always advocated for the unity of Asian peoples against the common enemy. In October 1941, the "Anti-Fascist Representative Congress of Eastern Nations" was held in Yan'an, attended by over 130 representatives from Korea, Japan, India, Vietnam, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and other regions, leading to the establishment of the "Yan'an Anti-Fascist Alliance of Eastern Nations." This grand gathering played an extremely important role in promoting the united resistance of Asian peoples. In March 1942, China drafted the "Outline Plan for Promoting Movement in Vietnam" to guide the growth of Vietnamese anti-Japanese forces in China; in December, it passed the "Guiding Proposal for Assisting the Korean Restoration Movement," providing economic support and political solidarity to Korean anti-Japanese forces. China actively supported overseas Chinese in participating in anti-fascist struggles, such as supporting the resistance of Chinese communities in the Philippines, Burma, and Vietnam. The heroic resistance in the Chinese theater also greatly inspired the national liberation struggles of Asian peoples spiritually.
II. The historical contribution of the Chinese theater was the collective creation of the entire nation through unity and tenacious struggle, demonstrating the powerful strength of the Chinese nation in upholding the cause of human justice.
The victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance was a great victory won by the entire nation united as one in courageous struggle. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "The great Chinese People's War of Resistance caused the awakening and unity of the Chinese nation to reach an unprecedented height." From the theaters behind enemy lines to the frontline battlefields, from compatriots at home to overseas Chinese, all sons and daughters of China built a "Great Wall of Steel" with their own flesh and blood to resist Japanese Fascism.
The historical contribution of the Chinese theater profoundly exemplifies the Chinese nation's value pursuit of loving peace and "using force to end conflict" [2]. The Chinese nation is a peace-loving nation; the concept that "peace is precious" has been passed down through generations, and the idea that "it is permissible to fight a war if it is to end war" is deeply ingrained in the people's hearts. After Japanese imperialism launched the September 18th Incident to invade China, the CPC clearly proposed expelling Japanese imperialism through a national revolutionary war. To guide the nation in scientific and effective resistance, Comrade Mao Zedong wrote On Protracted War, proposing a complete set of methods to submerge the enemy in the "vast ocean of a people's war." On the battlefields of resistance, guerrilla warfare, mobile warfare, and positional warfare were coordinated to fight the enemy. Strategically, the protracted defensive war on internal lines was unified dialectically with quick-decision offensive warfare on external lines in campaigns and battles. Ambush warfare, sabotage warfare, landmine warfare, tunnel warfare, and "sparrow warfare" [3]—the creative killing of the enemy by the masses blossomed everywhere... History tells us that only those capable of fighting can stop a war; only by being prepared to fight is it possible to avoid having to fight; and the less capable one is of fighting, the more likely one is to be attacked. This is the dialectic of war and peace. On the New Journey, we must accurately grasp the new characteristics of national security strategic needs in the New Era, focus on solid preparations for military struggle, and comprehensively enhance our strategic capabilities to maintain peace and defend national sovereignty, security, and development interests.
The historical contribution of the Chinese theater fully demonstrates the national spirit of the Chinese nation—unafraid of brute force and courageous in struggle. Chinese civilization is the only civilization in the world that has continued uninterrupted to the present day; a crucial reason for this is that the Chinese nation is never intimidated by any enemy. In this national liberation struggle—the longest, largest, and most sacrificial resistance against foreign invasion in China's modern history—the CPC was the most steadfast in defending national independence, the most resolute in protecting national interests, and the most courageous in resisting foreign aggression. Fighting on the foremost lines of the war, the CPC sustained the hope of national salvation and survival, becoming the "pillar of strength" (zhongliu dizhu) for the entire nation's resistance. Countless sons and daughters of China, as the "March of the Volunteers" sings, "braved the enemy's fire" and "marched on," demonstrating undaunted heroism. Military leaders such as Yang Jingyu, Zhao Shangzhi, Zuo Quan, Peng Xuefeng, Tong Linge, Zhao Dengyu, Zhang Zizhong, and Dai Anlan, along with heroic groups like the "Five Heroes of Mount Langya" of the Eighth Route Army, the "Liu Lao Zhuang Company" of the New Fourth Army, the eight female soldiers of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, and the "Eight Hundred Heroes" of the Kuomintang army, are outstanding representatives of the Chinese people who defied brute force and died for their country. History proves that the courage to struggle and the courage to win provide the powerful spiritual force to overcome all hardships, obstacles, and formidable enemies. On the New Journey, we must strengthen our ambition, integrity, and confidence, refuse to believe in heterodoxies, fear no ghosts, and withstand all pressure [4], relying on tenacious struggle to open up new horizons for the development of our cause.
The historical contribution of the Chinese theater powerfully demonstrates the Chinese nation's global vision of "caring for all under heaven" and "standing together in the same boat." The Chinese nation has always advocated that "all under heaven are one family," moving forward hand-in-hand and sharing life and death with brotherly nations and peoples in the face of great disasters. During the World Anti-Fascist War, the glorious historical contributions of the Chinese theater were a vivid embodiment of the Chinese people's courage to take responsibility and their spirit of mutual assistance, leaving behind many moving historical moments. In April 1942, when British forces were in crisis at Yenangyaung, Burma, the main force of the New 38th Division of the 66th Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force was ordered to reinforce them. After fierce combat with the Japanese army, they rescued over 7,000 British soldiers and more than 500 captured British and American missionaries and journalists. In August 1944, New Fourth Army units and local militia rescued Lt. Col. Savoie and four other American pilots who had crashed in Jianyang County (now Jianhu County), Jiangsu, while returning from a mission against Japan. History proves that the Chinese nation is a nation of great responsibility, and the Chinese people are a people of great heart. On the New Journey, we must uphold the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity, vigorously promote the common values of all humanity, and contribute more Chinese strength to promote world peace and development.
(Caption: The September 18th Incident was the starting point of the Chinese People's War of Resistance and raised the curtain on the World Anti-Fascist War. The photo shows an event titled "Remembering Loyal Souls during Qingming, Eternally Inheriting the Spirit of Resistance—2025 Qingming Festival Commemoration" held on April 4, 2025, at the Broken Calendar Monument Plaza of the "9.18" History Museum in Shenyang, Liaoning. Photo by Zou Xinjiang / People’s Visual)
The historical contribution of the Chinese theater solemnly proclaimed the historical iron law of the Chinese nation's unbreakable unity. For millennia, the value-concept of unity has been deeply integrated into and profoundly influenced the spiritual world of the Chinese people. At the time of the Xi'an Incident [5], various forces—whether active or passive—were ultimately able to prioritize the greater national interest, achieving a peaceful resolution and a unified front against foreign aggression, which became the pivot for transforming the wider political situation. In those years of "blood and wind" [6], resisting aggression and seeking national salvation became the common will of all Chinese political parties, ethnic groups, classes, social strata, organizations, and overseas Chinese. Under the banner of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, founded on the basis of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party as advocated by the CPC, the people of the whole country plunged themselves resolutely into the torrent of resistance against Japanese invaders. Whether on the frontal battlefield or the behind-enemy-lines battlefield, millions of patriotic soldiers fought bloody battles with a defiance of death, and people from all walks of life were of one heart and mind in their shared hatred for the enemy, composing a magnificent, world-shaking epic of resistance against foreign aggression with their lives and blood. History proves that unity is strength, and only unity leads to victory. On the New Journey, we must unite more closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, coalescing an unstoppable and unshakable powerful synergy.
III. The victory of the anti-fascist war in the Chinese theater was forged with blood and lives; we must unswervingly defend these hard-won fruits of victory.
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "The most precious inspiration left to us by the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War is that we must unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development." As the only major country in the world to write peaceful development into its Constitution and the Party Constitution of the governing party—elevating it to the national will—China always draws wisdom and strength from history to firmly defend the hard-won fruits of victory.
We must remember the extraordinary achievements of the Chinese theater and resolutely oppose erroneous acts that distort or smear China's contribution to the War of Resistance. The Chinese theater made outstanding contributions to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and erected an immortal monument to the cause of human peace. However, some forces, out of political self-interest or ideological prejudice, either portray China as a "passive victim" rather than an "active contributor"; or deliberately belittle the strategic status of the Chinese theater, simply attributing the victory of WWII to the contributions of British and American nations; or attempt to cover up the essence of Japanese aggression, downplaying the immense pain Japan caused to Asia-Pacific countries, and even promoting the "Japan as victim" theory to beautify the history of aggression. The warp and woof of history weave the direction of the future; protecting the correct conclusions of WWII history is protecting the foundation of peaceful development. The extraordinary achievements of the Chinese theater are, in essence, an important historical cornerstone for peace in the Asia-Pacific region and the world. China will continue to take a firm stance against erroneous acts that distort the history of the War of Resistance, working with peace-loving countries worldwide to defend the indisputable historical truth and solidify the historical foundation of peaceful development.
We must never allow militarism to make a comeback, nor allow the tragedy of history to repeat itself. The essence of Japanese militarism was to expand territory, plunder resources, and seek world hegemony by launching wars of aggression. Characterized by being anti-human, anti-humanity, and anti-civilization, it was extremely cruel and reactionary, and was the root of the fires of war and the destruction of order in the Asia-Pacific in modern history. The Nanjing Massacre, the Changjiao Massacre, the Sook Ching Massacre (Singapore), the Bataan Death March, the Manila Massacre, and the large-scale manufacture and use of biological and chemical weapons—these inhumane atrocities have forever nailed Japanese militarism to the pillar of historical shame. However, because the post-war trials of Japanese militarism were incomplete, some war criminals did not receive their due punishment and even soon transformed back into high-ranking officials in the Japanese government, resulting in the failure to thoroughly eradicate Japanese militarist ideology. No matter how the times change, or how Japanese right-wing forces clamor and perform, all peace-loving countries and peoples in the world, including the Chinese people, will never allow Japanese militarism to be revived or make a comeback!
We must firmly defend the legal principle and fact that Taiwan is part of China, and never allow any person or force to split Taiwan from China in any form. The return of Taiwan to China is an important component of the fruits of victory in WWII and the post-war international order. A series of documents with international legal effect, such as the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, confirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan, and the historical and legal facts are indisputable. However, in recent years, "Taiwan independence" forces have been rampant, promoting "de-Sinicization" and "incremental independence" on the island, deceiving the Taiwan public, inciting hatred toward the mainland, and obstructing or undermining cross-strait exchanges, cooperation, and integrated development. Opposing "Taiwan independence" secessionism and external interference is both a righteous act to safeguard the fruits of victory in WWII and the post-war international order, and a basis and prerequisite for ensuring peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. We must adhere to the one-China principle and the "1992 Consensus" [7], deepen cross-strait economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation, promote the spiritual harmony [8] of compatriots on both sides of the strait, and resolutely oppose "Taiwan independence" secessionist activities. No matter how the internal situation in Taiwan changes, or how external forces stir up trouble, achieving the complete reunification of the motherland is the common aspiration of all Chinese sons and daughters at home and abroad; it is the trend of the times, the requirement of justice, and the will of the people. No one can stop the wheel of history.
An "Oriental Pillar" stands amidst the stream [9], and the light of victory shines across the eight directions [10]. Strengthening the correct understanding of the historical contribution of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression from history and facts, maintaining a sense of awe and a clear conscience, and standing on the right side of history and the side of fairness and justice—this is the correct choice for jointly creating the "great way" [11] for humanity. As the heroic people's army under the absolute leadership of the Communist Party of China, we must always remember the major historical contributions of the Eastern Main Theater of the World Anti-Fascist War, deeply study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, especially Xi Jinping's thinking on strengthening the military, vigorously carry forward the great spirit of the War of Resistance, firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and forever be the steadfast defenders of the cause of human peace!
Source: Qiushi, Issue No. 12, 2025 Internet Editor: Tongxin