Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee: Drawing Wisdom and Strength for Continuous Progress from the Great Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression [1]
The great War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was a heroic page in the history of the Chinese people’s struggle for independence and freedom in modern times, and a chapter marked by profound vicissitudes in the historical development of the Chinese nation. The great victory of the War of Resistance was the first complete victory in a national liberation war against foreign invasion in modern history. It served as the historical turning point for the Chinese nation, moving from a position of deep crisis toward great rejuvenation. It was also a vital component of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War; it was a victory for the Chinese people and a victory for the people of the world. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "Historical memory and truth do not fade with the passing of years; the enlightenment they bring us will forever illuminate reality and guide the future." Our commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War is intended to remember history, honor the martyrs, cherish peace, and create the future. We seek to draw wisdom and strength from this great victory to comprehensively advance the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization.
I. We Must Adhere to the Party's Comprehensive Leadership
In 1931, Japanese imperialism brazenly launched the September 18th Incident [1] and forcibly occupied Northeast China. Subsequently, the flames of war were spread south of the Great Wall; the Chinese nation reached its most perilous moment. It was the Communist Party of China (CPC) that issued the first call for resistance to save the nation, awakening the national soul for survival, leading the correct direction of the resistance, and becoming the national vanguard in securing victory.
The CPC led the way with correct political propositions, advocating for and maintaining the Chinese United Front Against Japanese Aggression. After the September 18th Incident, the Party was the first to propose the stance of "unanimous mobilization and taking up arms," the first to issue a declaration of war against Japan, and the first to organize guerrilla warfare in the Northeast. The Party published the "August 1st Declaration" [2], calling for an end to the civil war and a united front against Japan. It convened the Wayaobu Conference, explicitly proposing the establishment of a broad national united front, and later facilitated the peaceful resolution of the Xi'an Incident [3], promoting KMT-CPC unity in the resistance. Addressing the dual nature of the Kuomintang (KMT), the Party employed a strategy of both alliance and struggle to maintain the overall situation of the resistance, ensuring the united front would "play a decisive role in defeating Japanese imperialism."
The CPC guided the overall situation with superior strategic thought, formulating a line for total resistance and proposing the general strategy of protracted war. Facing the objective reality of a strong enemy and a weak China, the Party creatively answered the fundamental strategic questions determining the success or failure of the war. It profoundly clarified that "the army and the people are the foundation of victory" and emphasized that a comprehensive war involving the entire nation was the "central key to securing victory." The Party scientifically foresaw the protracted nature of the war and its progression through three stages—strategic defense, strategic stalemate, and strategic counter-offensive. It proposed a complete set of specific operational policies and principles for protracted war and identified the strategic status of guerrilla warfare. This intellectually armed the military and the people, making the Party the true "General Staff for National Salvation."
The CPC opened vast theaters of war behind enemy lines through powerful organizational mobilization, leading the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army deep into occupied areas to mobilize and arm the masses, turning the "rear" into the "front line." As the war entered the strategic stalemate phase, the theaters behind enemy lines gradually became the primary battlegrounds of China's resistance, pinning down and resisting 58% to 75% of the Japanese invasion forces and almost all puppet troops [4]. The Party implemented policies of resistance-based democracy, leading the establishment of 19 revolutionary base areas covering nearly 1 million square kilometers and a population of nearly 100 million, which became the front lines and fortresses of the struggle. The people's armed forces led by the Party continued to grow, becoming the decisive strength in sustaining the war and seizing victory.
History proves that the key to victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression lay in the CPC's role as the "mainstay" (zhongliu dizhu) [5]. Comrade Mao Zedong profoundly pointed out: "Without the efforts of the Communist Party of China, without the Chinese Communists as the mainstay of the Chinese people, independence and liberation for China would be impossible, and so would China's industrialization and the modernization of her agriculture." General Secretary Xi Jinping also noted: "Without the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the task of achieving national independence and liberation might have taken longer and come at a higher cost; our country could not have achieved the developmental successes it has today, nor could it possess its current international status."
Adhering to the leadership of the CPC is the fundamental basis for the prosperity of the country and the nation, as well as the well-being of the people of all ethnic groups. On the New Journey, we must profoundly understand the decisive significance of the "Two Establishments," resolutely achieve the "Two Upholds," and fully implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. We must persist in and strengthen the Party's comprehensive leadership, continuously enhancing its political leadership, ideological guidance, mass organization, and social mobilization capabilities, ensuring the Party remains the most reliable backbone (zhujingu) for all people when storms strike.
II. We Must Persist in Taking the Path of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics
An important reason why Japanese imperialism dared to attempt to "subjugate a large country with a small force" and turn China into its exclusive colony was that China had long failed to find a correct path of development after the Opium War, leaving the country impoverished and weak. After suffering unprecedented calamities, China tried various schemes to save the nation, all of which ended in failure. In a state of total desperation where all other roads were blocked, China's advanced elements resolutely chose Marxism and the socialist path, setting Chinese history on the correct course.
During the War of Resistance, however, die-hards within the KMT continuously distorted Marxism and vilified socialism. They advocated for "one doctrine, one party," claiming that "the Three People's Principles [6] can satisfy all of China's current and future requirements; once they are realized, China will have no need for socialism." This brought the question of "Whither China?" sharply before everyone concerned with the nation's fate, requiring the CPC to provide a further theoretical response regarding its chosen path. During the war, Comrade Mao Zedong wrote important works such as Introducing "The Communist", The Chinese Revolution and the Chinese Communist Party, and On New Democracy. He systematically analyzed the nature of modern Chinese society and the targets, nature, dynamics, and future of the Chinese revolution. He pointed out that China would pass through the New Democratic Revolution [7] toward the socialist revolution, clearing the ideological fog created by the KMT die-hards and drawing more people under the banners of New Democracy and socialism. Wen Yiduo, a professor at the National Southwestern United University, said of his intellectual transformation: "My mind is now suddenly enlightened. In the past, I only knew how to love the country abstractly, without knowing what kind of country to love... Now I know that loving the country can only mean loving a New Democratic country; we struggle for New Democracy now, and for socialism and communism in the future."
The issue of the "path" is directly related to the success or failure of the cause of the Party and the people. Since its founding, our Party has closely united and relied on the people, enduring countless hardships and paying various costs to achieve great victories in revolution, construction, and reform. It created and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics, fundamentally changing the future and destiny of the Chinese people and the nation. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly stated: "Only socialism could save China, and only by persisting in and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics can we realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."
On the New Journey, we must strengthen our "Four Confidences" in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and strive with unswerving devotion to win new victories. No matter what storms we encounter, we must remain consistent on the fundamental issue of adhering to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. We will never "change course" (gaixuan gengzhang) [8] due to various "noises" or distractions. We will unswervingly push forward the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics, making our path broader and our system more mature and refined.
III. We Must Persist in a People-Centered Approach
The War of Resistance was a life-and-death struggle for the Chinese nation; victory could only be achieved by mobilizing the masses. The CPC realized that the balance of power between the enemy and ourselves was not just a comparison of military and economic strength, but a comparison of human resources and popular support (renxin). By mobilizing the common people of the whole country, we created a "vast ocean" to drown the enemy, creating the conditions to compensate for deficiencies in weaponry and the prerequisite for overcoming all wartime difficulties. The Party mobilized the masses politically, militarily, economically, culturally, and through livelihoods. The governments in the resistance base areas implemented the "Three-Thirds System" [9], widely uniting all resisting classes and strata and mobilizing all positive factors. The Party also worked to develop the economy, implementing policies such as "reducing rent and interest" to provide tangible benefits to the working masses, which greatly stimulated their enthusiasm for the resistance.
Comrade Nie Rongzhen, who led the creation of the first base area behind enemy lines (the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region), recalled: "Once the people were fully mobilized, we were like fish in water or tigers with wings in the ocean of the masses. And the enemy? They met walls and difficulties everywhere. They couldn't find guides, food, or equipment; even finding a pot to cook a meal was difficult. They were like a deaf and blind man falling into an abyss. With the people loving us and hating the enemy so much, how could the Japanese invaders not fail?" In many base areas, everyone—from children to the elderly—served as the eyes and ears of the Eighth Route and New Fourth Armies. The masses set up signal systems between mountain peaks and villages to report enemy movements. It can be said that in the history of the Chinese nation’s resistance against foreign aggression, there had never been a time like the period of the Party-led base areas where national awakening was so profound, mobilization so extensive, and the fighting will of the people's armed forces so tenacious.
"The country is the people, and the people are the country" (jiangshan jiushi renmin, renmin jiushi jiangshan). During the War of Resistance, all Chinese people worked with one heart and shared a common hatred for the enemy, demonstrating an indestructible and majestic power. On the New Journey, we must keep in mind the fundamental purpose of serving the people whole-heartedly, maintaining that the people’s aspiration for a better life is our goal. This ensures that the people remain our most solid support and strongest source of confidence. We must always put the people first, follow the mass line in the New Era, and persist in doing everything for the people and relying on the people. we must stand firmly with the people, grasp their wishes, respect their creativity, and pool their wisdom. We must resolve the "urgent, difficult, and anxious" problems of the masses with heart and soul, ensuring that the fruits of modernization benefit all people more extensively and fairly.
IV. We Must Persist in the Spirit of Struggle
The barbaric aggression of Japanese imperialism pushed the Chinese nation to the brink of extinction, sparking a resistance that was more intense and widespread than any previous struggle against foreign invasion. The War of Resistance became the longest-lasting national liberation struggle in modern Chinese history, involving the largest scale and the most sacrifices. Throughout this war, all Chinese people shared a common enemy, built a "Great Wall of Will" (zhongzhi chengcheng), and resolutely developed the spirit of struggle. They finally swept away the gloom of repeated defeats and achieved the first complete victory against foreign invasion in modern times.
Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out: "The Chinese nation is by no means a flock of sheep... For the sake of national self-respect and human justice, and so that the Chinese people must live on their own land, we will never allow Japanese fascists to achieve their lawless goals without paying a heavy price. Our method is war and sacrifice." The Chinese people are brave and skilled in struggle, unafraid of sacrifice. Facing brutal invaders, countless heroes held the conviction that "either the bandit kills me, or I kill the bandit." With a "death-defying" national spirit (xiang si er sheng), they "marched toward the enemy's gunfire" to defend their hometowns, the Yellow River, North China, and all of China.
On every front, the people's armed forces led by the Party fought bravely at the vanguard. Whether on the vast North China Plain or in the water-bound regions of the Yangtze delta, the military and civilians of the base areas cut off enemy retreats and launched surprise attacks, creating numerous tactics like ambush, tunnel warfare, landmine warfare, "sparrow warfare" [10], sabotage warfare, and water-based guerrilla warfare. They "dispersed into units" when the enemy encircled them and "integrated into a whole" when the enemy split their forces, performing the "masterpiece" of guerrilla warfare with great brilliance. The Chinese people persisted in the struggle to the end. From the September 18th Incident in 1931 to Japan's unconditional surrender in 1945, through 14 arduous years, the Party led the people in a persistent, protracted resistance, contesting every inch of land and opposing surrender or compromise while purging pessimistic sentiments.
In 1939, at the 5th Plenary Session of the 5th KMT Central Executive Committee, Chiang Kai-shek interpreted "carrying the resistance to the end" as merely "restoring the status quo prior to the Marco Polo Bridge Incident" [11]. Comrade Mao Zedong denounced this, stating: "This is effectively recognizing the secession of the Northeast," and countered with the slogan: "Our slogan is to fight to the Yalu River and recover all lost territory." During the most difficult stage of strategic stalemate, the CPC insisted: "The War of Resistance must be won—this is the political direction; this direction is firm, and we must persist regardless of any hardships or difficulties."
The victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was achieved by the Party and the people through extremely arduous struggle and at a tremendous cost. Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out that the anti-Japanese armed forces led by the Party possess "an indomitable spirit and are determined to vanquish all enemies and never to yield. No matter what the difficulties and hardships, so long as a single man remains, he will fight on." [12] General Secretary Xi Jinping has also profoundly noted: "The founding of the Communist Party of China, the founding of the People's Republic of China, the implementation of reform and opening up, and the advancement of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era were all born in struggle, developed in struggle, and grew strong in struggle." On the new journey, facing the critical period for achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the important stage of overcoming difficulties in reform and development—and in the face of an unprecedented rise in internal and external risks—we must unswervingly carry forward the spirit of struggle. We must employ the will to struggle characterized by "knowing full well there are tigers in the mountain, yet deliberately heading toward the mountain," [13] the capability for struggle embodied by the sentiment that "when meeting on a narrow path, the brave shall emerge victorious," [14] and the tenacious character of "stepping over the ruggedness to forge a great path, and setting out again after battling through hardships and dangers." [15] We must overcome difficulties, guard against risks, meet challenges, and resist suppression, promoting the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation, advancing forward regardless of wind or rain.
V. We must unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development.
From its very beginning, the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression held great significance for saving human civilization and defending world peace. Comrade Mao Zedong emphasized: "China’s great War of Resistance is not only China’s business, the business of the East, but also the business of the world," and "our enemy is a world-wide enemy; China’s War of Resistance is a world-wide War of Resistance." In the Global Anti-Fascist War, the Chinese People's War of Resistance started the earliest and lasted the longest. With enormous national sacrifice, the Chinese people sustained the main eastern theater of the Global Anti-Fascist War and played a decisive role in the total collapse of the Japanese aggressors, winning a hard-earned peace and defending the cause of human peace. The victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance was a great victory for the Chinese people fighting side-by-side with all peace-loving countries and peoples in the world.
The Chinese nation is a peace-loving nation, and peacefulness is a prominent characteristic of Chinese civilization. The Chinese people are a peace-loving people who possess an unforgettable memory of the suffering brought by war and a tireless pursuit of peace. In modern times, the Chinese people suffered deeply from the aggression of the Great Powers and the ravages of war; in particular, the inhumane aggressive acts, appalling massacres, and barbaric, frantic plunder and destruction by Japanese militarism brought catastrophic disasters to the Chinese people. However, the Chinese people did not learn from this the "law of the jungle" logic of brigands; rather, they deeply understood the cruelty of war and the preciousness of peace. Our commemoration of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance and the Global Anti-Fascist War—and our condemnation of the brutality of the aggressors and emphasis on remembering historical experiences and lessons—is not intended to prolong hatred. Instead, it is meant to awaken a yearning for and commitment to peace in kind-hearted people, to take history as a mirror and look toward the future, and to jointly cherish and maintain peace so that the people of all countries in the world may enjoy permanent peace and tranquility.
Currently, the international situation is characterized by intertwined changes and chaos; hegemony and bullying are rampant and cause profound harm. Humanity once again stands at a crossroads between unity or confrontation, peace or war. We must adhere to the vision of global governance based on extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits; we must insist on dialogue rather than confrontation, partnership rather than alliance, and win-win results rather than zero-sum games. We must practice genuine multilateralism, take into account the legitimate concerns of all parties, and safeguard international rules and order. We must uphold a correct view of the history of World War II, resolutely safeguard the post-war international order, and firmly defend international fairness and justice. We must never allow the denial, distortion, or even glorification of the history of aggression; never allow the resurgence of militarism; and never allow historical tragedies to be repeated. We must be firm guardians of historical memory, companions in development and revitalization, and defenders of international fairness and justice, striving for a brighter future for the destiny of humanity.
Eighty years ago, the great victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression enabled the "ancient China to undergo a nirvana-like rebirth through fire, initiating a new historical journey for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." Standing at a new historical starting point, we must unite more closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, draw wisdom and strength for continuous progress from the great victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance, carry forward the great spirit of the War of Resistance, and work with even greater initiative to strive unremittingly for the comprehensive advancement of building a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-path modernization.
Source: Qiushi, Issue No. 17, 2025 Online Editor: Tongxin