Hu Dekun: The World-Historical Significance of China’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression
After the Great Victory at Pingxingguan [1], the Eighth Route Army advanced into the enemy's rear. China’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was both a vital component of the Global War Against Fascism and a historic contributor to its victory, possessing profound world-historical significance.
China Opened the World’s Earliest and Longest-Running Oriental Main Battlefield Against Fascism
Fascist states were the chief culprits who instigated the Second World War. During the 1920s and 1930s, fascist forces took power in Italy, Japan, and Germany, gradually forming sources of war in both the East and the West. The goal of these fascist forces was to establish a world order of fascist rule and to permanently exploit and enslave the entire world.
On September 18, 1931, Japan launched the September 18th Incident [2] invading Northeast China. This marked the beginning of its large-scale war of aggression against China and, moreover, the starting point of the localized phase of the Second World War. From then on, the Chinese people held high the banner of armed resistance against Japan, firing the first shot of the War of Resistance and raising the curtain on the Global War Against Fascism. The period from the September 18th Incident to the July 7th Incident [3] constituted the localized phase of China’s War of Resistance. During this period, Chinese resistance was manifested primarily in two areas: first, the anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) in the Northeast; and second, the localized resistance by the pro-resistance factions within the Kuomintang (KMT) [4].
China's localized resistance was of great significance: it was the first to raise the great banner of anti-fascist war in the world, representing the progressive direction of world history; it was the first to create a new form of warfare—guerrilla warfare—to resist fascist aggression, becoming another vital form of resistance in the Global War Against Fascism; and it played a promotional role in galvanizing the entire nation to launch a full-scale war of resistance.
On July 7, 1937, Japan began its full-scale war of aggression against China. At this critical juncture of life or death for the Chinese nation, the KMT and CPC achieved their second cooperation [5]. The military and civilians of the entire country, filled with shared hatred for the enemy, rose up in resistance. The frontline battlefield commanded by the KMT and the enemy-rear battlefield led by the CPC complemented each other, effectively striking and pinning down the main forces of the Japanese Army and parts of its Navy. This marked the formal opening of the Oriental Main Battlefield of the Global War Against Fascism.
On the frontline battlefield during the early period of the national War of Resistance, Chinese forces tenaciously resisted the Japanese army across vast regions of Northern, Central, and Southern China. In the Battle of Shanghai, the Battle of Taierzhuang, and the Battle of Wuhan, Chinese forces repeatedly performed meritorious service and dealt heavy blows to the Japanese, forcing the Japanese military to shift from a "war of quick decision" to a stage of strategic stalemate. Millions of troops on the frontline battlefield utilized the vastness of the national territory to confront the invading Japanese army, pinning down the main strength of the Japanese Army on the Chinese battlefield and leaving them in a dilemma [6], unable to advance or retreat until their final defeat.
On the enemy-rear battlefield, the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army, and other anti-Japanese armed forces led by the CPC went deep behind enemy lines in Northern, Central, and Southern China to establish anti-Japanese base areas and mobilize the masses to conduct guerrilla warfare. After the Battle of Wuhan in October 1938, the Japanese military began to shift its operational focus from the frontline battlefield to the enemy-rear battlefield, bringing the latter into its most difficult period. However, the anti-Japanese armed forces led by the CPC, using flexible and mobile strategic tactics, continuously struck the Japanese forces and expanded their own strength, becoming the zhongliudizhu (mainstay; pillar of strength) [7] of China’s War of Resistance.
Throughout the eight-year period of national resistance, China consistently fought against the main forces of the Japanese Army and portions of its Navy, making it the Oriental Main Battlefield of the Global War Against Fascism in both name and reality. Historical facts prove that the Chinese battlefield was the Oriental Main Battlefield against fascism that opened earliest, lasted longest, and achieved final victory.
China’s War of Resistance Powerfully Supported the Operations of the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Other Allies
In September 1939, the Second World War broke out in full, and the pace of unification among anti-fascist nations accelerated. The anti-fascist wars of various countries supported one another. The support provided by the Chinese battlefield to other global theaters was primarily manifested in the following:
(1) China’s War of Resistance powerfully supported the Soviet Union’s Great Patriotic War. Attacking the Soviet Union to the north and occupying Siberia was a set national policy of Japanese fascism. In July 1938 and May 1939, the Japanese army launched provocations against Soviet forces at Lake Khasan and Khalkhin Gol, both of which ended in Japanese failure. Because the main forces of the Japanese military were committed to the Chinese battlefield, Japan lacked the strength to launch a simultaneous war of invasion against the Soviet Union.
After the full outbreak of World War II, the eyes of the UK, France, the US, and the Soviet Union were focused on Europe. Japanese military and political circles repeatedly proposed attacking the Soviet Union to the north while the Soviets were preoccupied with the West, but they failed to reach a consensus due to insufficient troop strength. From June 1942, Germany launched the Battle of Stalingrad and repeatedly pressured Japan to attack the Soviet Union, but Japan refused each time citing insufficient forces. It was precisely because the Chinese battlefield resisted and pinned down the main forces of the Japanese Army that the Soviet Union was spared a pincer attack from both Germany and Japan, allowing it to concentrate its full strength on the war against Germany and achieve victory in the Great Patriotic War.
(2) China’s War of Resistance powerfully supported the Pacific War of the United States and the United Kingdom. The "Southern Advance" was another of Japan’s national policies. Germany’s invasion of Poland in September 1939 and the defeat of British and French forces by German fascists in May–June 1940 twice provided Japan with golden opportunities for a southern advance. However, because Japan was deeply mired in a protracted war in China and unable to extricate itself, it was forced to delay its southern expansion.
Japan launched the Pacific War with the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 8, 1941. Yet, due to the powerful containment provided by the Chinese battlefield, Japan’s ground forces in the Pacific theater were severely insufficient. After initial victories in the Pacific, the Japanese Navy intended to capitalize on its success by invading Australia, but the Army refused on the grounds of insufficient manpower. On the contrary, the Japanese Army urgently hoped to end the war against China as quickly as possible to utilize China's human and material resources to block the US counter-offensive in the Pacific. Fighting on multiple fronts, the Japanese military could not attend to both ends at once [8]. Between September 1942 and January 1943, the Japanese military suffered heavy losses in the struggle for Guadalcanal in the Pacific and was forced into strategic defense, retreating step by step under the blow of superior American forces until its final defeat and surrender.
(3) China’s War of Resistance powerfully supported the North African and Mediterranean theaters of the UK and the US. In the spring of 1942, German progress in North Africa prompted Japan to propose a "Westward Advance" operational plan, attempting a decisive battle with Britain in India to force a British surrender. Because the main strength of the Japanese Army was bogged down in the Chinese battlefield, it could only send two divisions into the Indian theater; ultimately, it had to abandon the Westward Advance strategy. Consequently, South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Mediterranean region were spared devastation by Japanese fascism.
(4) The entry of Chinese troops into Burma powerfully supported the operations of the Anglo-American Allies in Burma and Southeast Asia. Following the outbreak of the Pacific War, China and Britain quickly signed the "Sino-British Agreement on the Common Defense of the Yunnan-Burma Road." In mid-December 1941, the Japanese army launched operations against Burma; British forces were routed, and Southern Burma fell. In March 1942, China dispatched two corps of the Expeditionary Force into Burma. Allied forces from China, Britain, and the US fought side-by-side in a grueling struggle. By January 28, 1945, they had recovered the entire Yunnan-Burma Road, restoring China’s land route for foreign aid and establishing a forward base for the Allied counter-offensive in Burma and throughout Southeast Asia.
China Made Important Contributions to the Construction of the Post-War International Order
China not only powerfully supported the Allied operations of the US, UK, and USSR across various battlefields, but also played an irreplaceable and important role in reconstructing the postwar international order.
First, China's international status rose to one of the "Big Four" anti-fascist powers. Since the Opium War, every previous Chinese resistance against foreign aggression had ended in failure, and the country had sunk into a semi-colonial state dominated by various powers, with no international status to speak of. After the War of Resistance began, because China started the anti-fascist war earliest and persisted throughout, it won the respect of all nations, and its status as a major power was recognized by the international community. On January 1, 1942, twenty-six anti-fascist nations, led by the "Big Four"—China, the US, the UK, and the USSR—issued the Declaration by United Nations. China joined the world’s top four for the first time, participating in the creation of a series of postwar international systems, such as the United Nations, and playing a vital role.
Second, China actively promoted the establishment of the Global Anti-Fascist Alliance, providing a guarantee for victory in WWII. China was the first to call for the establishment of an anti-fascist alliance. As early as March 1, 1937, Mao Zedong explicitly proposed the CPC's position on establishing an international anti-fascist alliance. On April 1, 1938, the KMT also clearly proposed the need to unite all forces opposed to Japanese imperialist aggression to stop Japan and establish and safeguard permanent peace in East Asia. China's initiative for an international anti-fascist united front first received a response from the Soviet Union. On August 21, 1937, China and the USSR signed a non-aggression treaty, and the Soviet Union began large-scale aid to China’s resistance. After the Pacific War broke out in 1941, China immediately declared war on Japan, Germany, and Italy, and suggested that the US, UK, and USSR immediately form an alliance with China. On January 1, 1942, under China's active promotion, the Declaration by United Nations was issued. The Global Anti-Fascist Alliance was formally proclaimed, providing the guarantee for the final victory.
Third, China made significant contributions to the construction of the postwar international order. In the middle and late stages of the anti-fascist war, China began deliberating and negotiating the establishment of a new postwar order: creating the United Nations, creating international economic organizations, participating in the creation of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (later renamed the World Bank) and the International Monetary Fund, and drafting the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). In this process, China actively spoke for itself and for smaller, weaker nations, striving to protect their interests and achieving several important breakthroughs.
China’s War of Resistance Laid the Foundation for the Birth of New China
The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was the first war in modern times in which the Chinese nation achieved complete victory in a struggle against foreign aggression. The key factor in China’s ability to win this war was the presence of the Communist Party of China. The CPC always stood at the very forefront of the War of Resistance; it was the advocate and firm implementer of the Chinese People’s Anti-Japanese National United Front, representing the correct direction for the survival and liberation of the Chinese nation. After the September 18th Incident, the CPC organized anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare in the Northeast, dealing a heavy blow to the Japanese Kwantung Army. After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, under the CPC’s impetus, an anti-Japanese national united front based on KMT-CPC cooperation was established, mobilizing the entire nation for resistance. The CPC and the people’s armed forces under its leadership advanced behind the lines of the Japanese army in Northern, Central, and Southern China, opening anti-Japanese base areas, mobilizing the masses for guerrilla warfare, and establishing the enemy-rear battlefield. The CPC’s enemy-rear battlefield and the KMT’s frontline battlefield complemented each other, jointly resisting the Japanese army and constituting the Oriental Main Battlefield of the Global War Against Fascism. After the Battle of Wuhan in 1938, the Japanese military turned its primary strength toward "pacification warfare" against the CPC’s enemy-rear battlefield, causing it to rapidly develop into the primary battlefield of China’s resistance. The CPC became the zhongliudizhu (mainstay) of the war.
The War of Resistance was a touchstone; all classes and political parties in China had to withstand the test of this magnificent war of national liberation. The war exposed the KMT's autocracy, corruption, and incompetence. The various perverse actions [9] of the KMT and its government caused it to lose the hearts of the people nationwide, thereby determining its fate of postwar defeat.
During the War of Resistance, the CPC withstood the test of blood and fire, developing and growing rapidly through its combat with the Japanese army. The CPC’s prestige among the people grew daily, winning their deep support and laying a solid foundation for victory in the War of Liberation [10].
The Second World War was the turning point in the mid-20th century when human history moved from world war toward postwar peace and development. At this major turning point in world history, China opened the world's earliest and longest-running Oriental Main Battlefield against fascism, powerfully supported the anti-fascist wars of various nations, made significant contributions to the establishment of the new postwar international order, and laid the foundation for the birth of New China, writing a brilliant and momentous chapter in world history.
(The author is a Senior Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences and former Vice President of Wuhan University) Source: Beijing Daily, July 14, 2025, Page 12 Online Editor: Tongxin