Gao Guorong: The Historic Contribution of China’s War of Resistance in a Global Perspective
The victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression serves as a critical pivot for the Chinese nation’s transition from decline to rejuvenation. It marked the first complete victory against foreign invasion in modern history and holds a position of paramount importance in the World Anti-Fascist War. China shouldered the heavy historical responsibility of the Main Eastern Battlefield, becoming the decisive force in crushing Japanese fascism. China provided immense support for the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War and the Allies' "Europe First" [1] strategy, making an indispensable and significant contribution to the victory on the Main European Battlefield. China’s Resistance inspired anti-fascist aggression and national liberation movements in other colonies and semi-colonies.
China was the Decisive Force in Resisting and Defeating Japan
World War II underwent a process of evolution and escalation from a series of local wars into a total and global war; it was a life-and-death struggle between "justice and evil, light and darkness, progress and reaction." Within the World Anti-Fascist War, China’s Resistance began the earliest, lasted the longest, and involved the greatest sacrifices, making it the primary force in resisting, containing, and defeating Japanese fascism, playing a decisive role in the ultimate victory.
China was the first to raise the anti-fascist banner and persisted in fighting alone for a long period. Starting from the September 18th Incident [2], the Chinese people were the first in the world to resist Japanese fascist aggression, lifting the curtain on the World Anti-Fascist War. After the July 7th Incident [3], China began its Full-Nation War of Resistance, opening the world's first large-scale anti-fascist battlefield in Asia and becoming the world's outpost against fascist aggression. Due to the appeasement policies of Western nations, China's Resistance was characterized by a decade of isolation and "bitterly holding on" [4] alone after 1931. The establishment of the World Anti-Fascist United Front was inseparable from China's active advocacy and vigorous promotion.
China played a primary role in every stage of the resistance against Japanese fascism. Before the July 7th Incident, the Chinese military and civilians resisted heroically, striking a blow to the Japanese invaders' arrogance. Between the July 7th Incident in 1937 and the outbreak of the war in Europe in 1939, China exhausted a large number of Japanese troops through the frontal battlefields and the battlefields behind enemy lines [5], shattering Japan's strategy of a "quick war for a quick resolution" and containing Japan's expansion into other parts of Asia. From September 1939 to the outbreak of the Pacific War in December 1941, the Chinese theater was in the stage of strategic stalemate; China's combat in both frontal and behind-enemy-lines battlefields delayed Japan's launch of a full-scale war of aggression in the Asia-Pacific. From the outbreak of the Pacific War in December 1941 to the end of World War II in September 1945, the Chinese People's War of Resistance was integrated with the World Anti-Fascist War. The Chinese theater tied down the main force of the Japanese Army and parts of its air and naval forces, remaining throughout the Main Eastern Battlefield against Japan in the international anti-fascist struggle.
China tied down and annihilated far more Japanese troops than any other country. Between 1937 and 1945, Japan committed the majority of its military strength to the Chinese theater. According to incomplete statistics, during the Full-Nation War of Resistance, the Chinese theater exhausted 4.55 million of Japan’s effective military strength (killed, wounded, captured, or surrendered), accounting for 70% of the total Japanese military losses. The decisive role of China in defeating Japanese fascism is evident from this. China was one of the countries that suffered the deepest, lost the most, and sustained the highest casualties during World War II. China won the final victory of the War of Resistance and the World Anti-Fascist War through extremely arduous struggle and immense national sacrifice.
China’s Critical Support for the “Europe First” Strategy
Facing the frantic aggression of German, Italian, and Japanese fascism, both the Soviet Union and the UK/US regarded Germany as the primary threat and formulated the "Europe First" strategy. To implement this strategy, a crucial prerequisite was to keep the Japanese military firmly tied down in the Main Eastern Battlefield, cutting off coordination among the Axis powers so they could be defeated piecemeal. China's Resistance tied down the main Japanese force, successfully coordinating with the Allies’ "Europe First" strategy and allowing them to avoid a two-front war, concentrating their strength to defeat German fascism. China’s Resistance contained Japan's "Northern Advance" plan to invade Siberia, enabling the Soviet Union to avoid a two-front war. Japan had formulated a "Northern Advance" plan to attack the Soviet Far East and launched several tentative provocations against the Soviet Army around 1939, all of which ended in failure. The main Japanese forces were mired in the "quagmire" of the Chinese theater and did not dare to advance north recklessly. After the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, Japan did not send troops against the Soviet Union as Germany requested, primarily because Japan was deeply trapped in the Chinese theater and unable to extricate itself. China’s protracted war greatly eased the pressure on the Soviet Union in the Far East, allowing the Soviets to transfer Far Eastern troops to the Western Front to deal fully with German fascism, ultimately winning the Great Patriotic War.
China’s Resistance tied down and delayed Japan’s "Southern Advance" into Southeast Asia, postponed the outbreak of the Pacific War, and provided important support for the UK/US implementation of the "Europe First" strategy. To establish the so-called "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere," Japan planned to conquer Southeast Asia. However, because it was trapped in the Chinese theater, Japan repeatedly postponed this plan. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, China subordinated itself to the Allies' "Europe First" strategy, persisting in the war against Japan and tying down the main Japanese Army in the Chinese theater. This foiled the Axis plot to execute a pincer attack from East and West to meet in the Middle East, creating the conditions for the Allies to defeat German and Japanese fascism separately. As the core strategic pivot for Allied operations against Japan in the Asia-Pacific, China not only provided critical airfields, harbors, strategic materials, and military intelligence but also contributed immense manpower, material, and financial resources, vigorously supporting the overall anti-fascist war effort. In short, China was always the main force against Japanese fascism on the Main Eastern Battlefield, creating the conditions for the Allies to implement the "Europe First" strategy and making a monumental contribution to the final victory.
China’s Resistance Advancing the World National Liberation Movement
The victory of China's Resistance was the first complete victory in a national liberation war achieved by China in modern times. It served as a vital pivot for the Chinese nation's rejuvenation, washing away a century of humiliation [6] and establishing China's status as a major power. China’s Resistance was a source of great inspiration for other colonies and semi-colonies, serving as a prelude to the post-war global national liberation movements.
The victory of the Resistance was a turning point in the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In modern times, China gradually fell into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society; the country suffered humiliation, the people suffered hardship, and civilization was obscured. China’s Resistance achieved unprecedented unity for the Chinese nation; the consciousness of the Chinese national community took shape and was strengthened as never before. The Resistance was the first war in modern history in which the Chinese people achieved total victory. China abolished a large number of unequal treaties, recovered territories including Taiwan, and saw its international status rise to join the ranks of the world's great powers again. The war expanded the people's revolutionary forces led by the Communist Party of China (CPC), laying a solid foundation for the establishment of a New China led by the proletariat.
China's Resistance inspired the confidence and courage of oppressed colonies and semi-colonies to strive for independence, driving the development of the post-war national liberation movement. By persisting in resistance, China shattered the lies of fascist states—specifically Japan's claim to be establishing a "Co-Prosperity Sphere" to help Asia escape Western colonial rule—and encouraged other nations to resist Japanese aggression. Furthermore, China supported neighboring countries even under extremely difficult circumstances. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, at the request of the UK, China dispatched the Expeditionary Force to Burma in 1942 to assist British forces, annihilating many Japanese troops and protecting India’s security. China also supported the resistance against Japan in Vietnam and Thailand. China’s Resistance dealt a heavy blow to Japanese fascism and catalyzed the collapse of the colonial system. The victory of China’s Resistance became a precursor to the surging national independence movements across the world, promoting liberation movements in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and greatly altering the post-war international order.
Positive Evaluations by Wartime Leaders
China’s immense contribution was highly recognized by wartime leaders. Mao Zedong noted: "China is one of the five largest countries participating in the anti-fascist war... the primary nation opposing the Japanese aggressors on the Asian continent," and China "made great efforts for its own liberation and to help the Allies." Stalin praised China, saying, "Only when the hands and feet of the Japanese aggressors are tied can we avoid a two-front war when the German aggressors attack us," noting that China's resistance "greatly facilitated the cause of crushing Japanese aggressive forces." US President Roosevelt highly affirmed the role of the Chinese theater, noting that the American people "cannot forget" China's contribution: the Chinese people were the "first to stand up and fight the aggressors," and their "tenacious and determined" long-term resistance "withstood the barbaric Japanese offensive," "tying down massive enemy forces on the Asian continent." Roosevelt speculated, "If there were no China, if China had collapsed," how many "divisions of Japanese soldiers could have been moved to other fronts? They could have taken Australia and India immediately... rushed straight to the Middle East... Japan could have coordinated with Germany for a large-scale pincer attack, meeting in the Near East, completely isolating Russia, swallowing Egypt, and cutting all Mediterranean communication lines." Churchill also admitted that China’s long-term resistance made it difficult for Japan to divert forces for a "massive invasion of India," thus protecting the security of India and the British Empire.
China was the first to launch the anti-fascist war, opening and sustaining the Main Eastern Battlefield, and remaining the decisive force in the final defeat of the Japanese military. China’s Resistance also effectively coordinated with the Allies' "Europe First" strategy, making a monumental and historic contribution to the final victory of the World Anti-Fascist War.
(The author is a researcher at the Institute of Modern History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) Source: Guangming Daily / China Social Science Net, September 1, 2025 Online Editor: Tongxin