The Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Made Significant Contributions to Saving Human Civilization

In his important speech at the commemoration meeting marking the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the Chinese people, through tremendous national sacrifice, made significant contributions to saving human civilization and safeguarding world peace. This important statement of General Secretary Xi Jinping, standing at the height of the history of the development of human civilization, provides a new interpretation of the significant contributions of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and offers new intellectual enlightenment for our correct understanding and grasp of the status and role of that war in the World Anti-Fascist War.

在纪念中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争胜利80周年大会上的重要讲话中，习近平总书记指出，中国人民以巨大的民族牺牲，为拯救人类文明、保卫世界和平作出了重大贡献。习近平总书记的这一重要论述，站在人类文明发展史的高度对中国人民抗日战争的重大贡献作出了新的诠释，为我们正确理解和把握中国人民抗日战争在世界反法西斯战争中的地位和作用提供了新的思想启迪。

The victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression defended the civilisational achievements of the Chinese nation developed over more than five thousand years. Chinese civilisation has a long and continuous history, constantly enriching and developing in the thousands of years of historical torrents, forming spiritual characteristics and developmental forms such as advocating benevolence, valuing the people, upholding good faith, esteeming justice, promoting harmony, and seeking great unity, as well as forming prominent features of continuity, innovation, unity, inclusiveness, and peacefulness. As the only civilisation in the world that has never been interrupted and continues to develop to this day, Chinese civilisation has, with its unique civilisational resilience and cultural creativity, constructed a diverse and integrated civilisational picture. Chinese civilisation has endured for millennia without cease, and the Chinese people have made indelible contributions to the progress of human civilisation through their extraordinary creativity. However, after 1840, due to the aggression of the great powers and the decay of feudal rule, the nation was humiliated, the people were afflicted, and the civilisation was sullied. Japan’s continuous aggression against China was the darkest page in modern Chinese history. In 1931, the Japanese army launched the September 18th Incident [1]1 The September 18th Incident: the Japanese Kwantung Army’s staged explosion on a railway near Mukden (Shenyang) on 18 September 1931, used as a pretext for the invasion and occupation of Northeast China (Manchuria)., occupying all of Northeast China. After launching a full-scale war of aggression against China in 1937, Japan even more brazenly sought to turn China into its exclusive colony, and then to swallow up Asia and dominate the world. The brutal aggression of Japanese militarism brought unprecedented and immense catastrophe to the Chinese people and caused enormous trauma to Chinese civilisation, but at the same time it aroused the tenacious resistance of the Chinese people. Under the banner of the Anti-Japanese National United Front [2]2 Anti-Japanese National United Front: the coalition of the Communist Party of China, the Kuomintang, and other anti-Japanese forces established in 1937 to resist Japanese aggression, based on the principle of unity and cooperation. advocated and established by the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people fought the strong enemy with iron resolve and built a Great Wall with their flesh and blood. After fourteen years of bloody struggle, they achieved the great victory of the War of Resistance. This great victory effectively defended national sovereignty and territorial integrity, washed away the national shame of repeated defeats in resisting foreign aggression since modern times, and re-established China’s great-power status in the world; it defended the civilisational achievements of the Chinese nation developed over more than five thousand years and opened a new historical journey for the ancient China of phoenix-like rebirth and renewal through fire.

中国人民抗日战争的胜利捍卫了中华民族五千多年发展的文明成果。中华文明源远流长，在数千年的历史长河中不断丰富和发展，形成了讲仁爱、重民本、守诚信、崇正义、尚和合、求大同的精神特质和发展形态，并形成突出的连续性、创新性、统一性、包容性、和平性特征。作为世界上唯一没有中断、发展至今的文明，中华文明以独特的文明韧性与文化创造力，构建起多元一体的文明图景。中华文明生生不息数千年，中国人民以非凡的创造力为人类文明进步作出了不可磨灭的贡献。但1840年以后，由于列强的侵略和封建统治的腐朽，国家蒙辱、人民蒙难、文明蒙尘。日本对华持续侵略是近代以来中国历史上最黑暗的一页，1931年日军发动九一八事变、侵占中国东北全境。1937年发动全面侵华战争之后，更是妄图变中国为其独占的殖民地，进而吞并亚洲、称霸世界。日本军国主义的野蛮侵略给中国人民造成空前巨大的灾难，给中华文明造成巨大的创伤，同时也激起了中国人民的顽强反抗。在中国共产党倡导建立的抗日民族统一战线旗帜下，中国人民以铮铮铁骨战强敌、以血肉之躯筑长城，经过十四年的浴血奋战，取得了抗日战争的伟大胜利。这一伟大胜利，有力捍卫了国家主权和领土完整，洗刷了近代以来抗击外来侵略屡战屡败的民族耻辱，重新确立了中国在世界上的大国地位；捍卫了中华民族五千多年发展的文明成果，开启了古老中国凤凰涅槃、浴火重生的历史新征程。

The Chinese people, with tremendous national sacrifice, made significant contributions to saving human civilisation. Owing to the aggression of fascist forces, human civilisation suffered unprecedented destruction. The flames of war spread to more than 80 countries and regions, involving about 2 billion people, with total military and civilian casualties exceeding 100 million and property losses reaching US$4 trillion. Saving human civilisation became the core task of the World Anti-Fascist War. As a vital part of that war, the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was the earliest launched and the longest sustained, and the Chinese people, with their tremendous national sacrifice, supported the main Eastern battlefield of the World Anti-Fascist War. In this contest between justice and evil, the China theatre long pinned down and fought the main forces of Japanese militarism, playing a decisive role in the complete destruction of the Japanese aggressors. Furthermore, the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression strategically coordinated with and supported the Allied operations, cooperating with the strategic actions of the European and Pacific theatres, restraining and disrupting the attempts of Japanese fascism to coordinate strategically with German and Italian fascism. As a result, Germany was never able to obtain Japan’s military coordination in the Far East, and the Soviet Union was able to transfer troops from the Far Eastern region to resist the German army on the Western Front. The Chinese people paid a tremendous price in the War of Resistance: according to incomplete statistics, Chinese military and civilian casualties exceeded 35 million. The victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression not only ended the expansionist ambitions of Japanese militarism but also served as a historical turning point for the global governance system from collapse to reconstruction. In 1943, China, the United States, and Britain issued the Cairo Declaration [3]3 Cairo Declaration: a joint statement issued by the United States, China, and the United Kingdom in December 1943, outlining the Allies’ war aims, including the return of territories taken by Japan., which for the first time explicitly stipulated that all territories Japan had seized or occupied in the Pacific since the beginning of the First World War in 1914 should be stripped from Japan, and that the Chinese territories stolen by Japan, including the Northeast, Taiwan, and the Penghu Islands, should be restored to China. This principled statement laid the legal foundation for the construction of the post-war order. In 1945, the Yalta Conference [4]4 Yalta Conference: a February 1945 meeting of the leaders of the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom to discuss the post-war reorganisation of Europe and the world order. further refined post-war arrangements, forming a power structure centred on the five major powers of the United States, the Soviet Union, China, Britain, and France through key decisions such as the zonal occupation of Germany, the establishment of the United Nations Security Council, and the maintenance of the veto power of the big powers. With the formal promulgation of the Charter of the United Nations, China became one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. The Chinese people won the respect of peace-loving peoples worldwide and earned a lofty national reputation. The victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression provided a model for oppressed nations to strive for independence and liberation, promoted the development of the national liberation movements in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and added a force for progress to human civilisation.

中国人民以巨大的民族牺牲为拯救人类文明作出了重大贡献。由于法西斯势力的侵略，人类文明遭到空前破坏，战火遍及80多个国家和地区，约有20亿人口卷入其中，军队和民众伤亡总数达1亿余人，财产损失达4万亿美元。拯救人类文明成为世界反法西斯战争的核心任务。作为世界反法西斯战争的重要组成部分，中国人民抗日战争开展时间最早、持续时间最长，中国人民以巨大的民族牺牲支撑起了世界反法西斯战争的东方主战场。在这场正义与邪恶的较量中，中国战场长期牵制和抗击日本军国主义的主要兵力，对日本侵略者的彻底覆灭起到了决定性作用。此外，中国人民抗日战争在战略上策应和支持了盟国作战，配合了欧洲战场和太平洋战场的战略行动，制约和打乱了日本法西斯和德意法西斯战略配合的企图，使德国始终无法获得日本在远东的军事配合，苏联得以从远东地区抽调兵力抵御西线德军。中国人民在抗日战争中付出了巨大的牺牲，据不完全统计，中国军民伤亡3500万人以上。中国人民抗日战争的胜利不仅终结了日本军国主义的扩张野心，也成为全球治理体系从崩溃走向重建的历史转折点。1943年中、美、英三国在开罗发表宣言，首次明确剥夺日本自1914年第一次世界大战开始后在太平洋上所夺得或占领之一切岛屿，日本所窃取的中国领土包括东北、台湾、澎湖群岛等地归还中国，这一原则性声明为战后秩序构建确立了法理基础。1945年雅尔塔会议进一步细化战后安排，通过分区占领德国、成立联合国安理会、维持大国否决权等关键决策，形成了以美、苏、中、英、法五大国为核心的权力架构。随着联合国宪章正式出台，中国成为联合国安理会五个常任理事国之一。中国人民赢得了世界爱好和平人民的尊敬，赢得了崇高的民族声誉。中国人民抗日战争的胜利为被压迫民族争独立、求解放的斗争提供了一个范例，推动了亚非拉民族解放运动的发展，为人类文明增添了进步力量。

China has always made significant contributions to promoting world peace and development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “History warns us that the destinies of humanity are intertwined; only when all countries and all nations treat each other as equals, live in harmony, and help one another can we safeguard common security, eliminate the root causes of war, and prevent historical tragedies from recurring!” Peace, harmony, and concord are concepts that Chinese civilisation has inherited for more than five thousand years. The peacefulness of Chinese civilisation fundamentally determines that China has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order. From the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence [5]5 Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence: principles first articulated in 1954 (mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence). to the Global Security Initiative [6]6 Global Security Initiative: a Chinese foreign policy concept proposed by Xi Jinping in 2022, emphasising common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security., China has always been a steadfast defender of world peace. China holds high the banner of peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit, abides by the foreign policy purpose of maintaining world peace and promoting common development, unswervingly develops friendly cooperation with all countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and promotes the building of a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation. The core meaning of the Global Security Initiative is the “Six Commitments” [7]7 “Six Commitments”: the six core tenets of the Global Security Initiative, listed in the text.: to stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security; to stay committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries; to stay committed to abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter; to stay committed to taking the legitimate security concerns of all countries seriously; to stay committed to peacefully resolving differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation; and to stay committed to maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional fields. The Global Security Initiative has demonstrated strong vitality and leadership in China’s diplomatic practice and in solving security issues and building security relationships in the international community, making important contributions to promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. From South-South Cooperation [8]8 South-South Cooperation: cooperation among developing countries, mainly in the Global South, in economic, technical, and political fields. to the Global Development Initiative [9]9 Global Development Initiative: a Chinese initiative proposed by Xi Jinping in 2021, focusing on accelerating implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development., China has always been a steadfast promoter of peaceful development. The 1955 Bandung Conference [10]10 Bandung Conference: the 1955 Asian-African Conference in Bandung, Indonesia, which promoted solidarity among newly independent states and the Non-Aligned Movement. opened a chapter of unity and cooperation among Asia, Africa, and developing countries, a great innovation in the history of post-war international relations. China, as an important participant that year, made indispensable contributions to the conference’s success. Under new historical conditions, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the Global Development Initiative, emphasising a commitment to prioritising development, a people-centered approach, inclusiveness and benefit for all, innovation-driven development, harmony between humanity and nature, and action-oriented implementation. This demonstrates China’s commitment to integrating its own development into world development and its sense of global responsibility and accountability in promoting the building of a global community for development. Through pragmatic cooperation under the framework of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, China actively assists in the economic and social development of partner countries. The Global Development Initiative and the high-quality Belt and Road Initiative complement each other, resonate, and create synergies. From Chinese proposals to international consensus, from cooperative concepts to joint actions, the Global Development Initiative has yielded fruitful results, providing strong impetus for the peaceful development of countries around the world.

中国人民始终为促进世界和平与发展作出重大贡献。习近平总书记指出：“历史警示我们，人类命运休戚与共，各个国家、各个民族只有平等相待、和睦相处、守望相助，才能维护共同安全，消弭战争根源，不让历史悲剧重演！”和平、和睦、和谐是中华文明五千多年来一直传承的理念。中华文明的和平性，从根本上决定了中国始终是世界和平的建设者、全球发展的贡献者、国际秩序的维护者。从和平共处五项原则到全球安全倡议，中国始终是世界和平的坚定维护者。中国高举和平、发展、合作、共赢的旗帜，恪守维护世界和平、促进共同发展的外交政策宗旨，坚定不移在和平共处五项原则基础上发展同各国的友好合作，推动建设相互尊重、公平正义、合作共赢的新型国际关系。全球安全倡议以“六个坚持”为核心要义，即坚持共同、综合、合作、可持续的安全观，坚持尊重各国主权、领土完整，坚持遵守联合国宪章宗旨和原则，坚持重视各国合理安全关切，坚持通过对话协商以和平方式解决国家间的分歧和争端，坚持统筹维护传统领域和非传统领域安全。全球安全倡议在中国的外交实践以及在国际社会解决安全问题、构建安全关系方面展现出强大生命力和引领力，为推动构建人类命运共同体作出重要贡献。从南南合作到全球发展倡议，中国始终是和平发展的坚定推动者。1955年万隆会议揭开亚非和发展中国家团结合作的时代篇章，是战后国际关系史上一大创举，中国当年作为重要参与方，为会议的成功作出了不可或缺的重要贡献。在新的历史条件下，习近平总书记提出了全球发展倡议，强调坚持发展优先、坚持以人民为中心、坚持普惠包容、坚持创新驱动、坚持人与自然和谐共生、坚持行动导向，展现了中国将自身发展寓于世界发展之中，着眼于推动构建全球发展共同体的天下情怀和责任担当。通过高质量共建“一带一路”框架下的务实合作，中国积极助力共建国家经济社会发展，全球发展倡议与高质量共建“一带一路”倡议互补共振、协同增效。从中国主张到国际共识、从合作理念到共同行动，全球发展倡议结出累累硕果，为世界各国和平发展提供强劲动力。

China will continue to play a positive role in promoting the common progress of human civilisation. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Today, humanity once again faces the choice between peace and war, dialogue and confrontation, win-win and zero-sum. The Chinese people stand firmly on the right side of history, on the side of human civilisational progress, adhere to the path of peaceful development, and join hands with the people of all countries to build a community with a shared future for mankind.” This stance not only highlights the historical genes of Chinese civilisation but also demonstrates the profound thinking of a responsible major country about the future of the globe. Remembering the history of the War of Resistance is for the sake of better grasping the present and leading the future. Facing the crossroads of choices for human civilisation, China will promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind from an open, inclusive, and win-win cooperative position, making Chinese contributions to the progress of human civilisation. We must deepen the integration of civilisations while safeguarding world peace, implement the Global Civilisation Initiative, respect the diversity of world civilisations, promote the common values of all humanity, attach importance to civilisational inheritance and innovation, strengthen international people-to-people and cultural exchanges and cooperation, and create a new picture of civilisational development that transcends hegemony, respects differences, and pursues harmonious coexistence. Actively practice the Global Governance Initiative, firmly uphold the international system centred on the United Nations and the international order based on international law, promote the building of a more just and equitable global governance system, and march hand in hand on the great road of a community with a shared future for mankind to jointly create a better tomorrow for human civilisation.

中国将继续发挥推动人类文明共同进步的积极作用。习近平总书记指出：“今天，人类又面临和平还是战争、对话还是对抗、共赢还是零和的抉择。中国人民坚定站在历史正确一边、站在人类文明进步一边，坚持走和平发展道路，与各国人民携手构建人类命运共同体。”这一立场不仅彰显了中华文明的历史基因，更展现了一个负责任大国对全球未来的深刻思考。铭记抗日战争的历史，是为了更好地把握现在、引领未来。面对人类文明抉择的十字路口，中国将以开放的、包容的、合作共赢的立场，推动人类命运共同体建设，为人类文明进步作出中国贡献。我们要在维护世界和平中推进各文明之间的深度交融，落实全球文明倡议，尊重世界文明多样性、弘扬全人类共同价值、重视文明传承和创新、加强国际人文交流合作，开创一个超越霸权、尊重差异、和谐共生的文明发展新图景。积极践行全球治理倡议，坚定维护以联合国为核心的国际体系和以国际法为基础的国际秩序，推动构建更加公正合理的全球治理体系，在人类命运共同体的大道上携手前行，共同开创人类文明更加美好的明天。

(The authors: Liu Xiaoquan and Li Deman, both are special researchers of the Jiangxi Provincial Research Centre for the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, and are respectively Dean and Vice Dean of the School of Marxism, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics)

（作者：刘晓泉、李德满，均系江西省中国特色社会主义理论体系研究中心特约研究员，分别系江西财经大学马克思主义学院院长、副院长）

Guangming Daily (September 23, 2025, Edition 06)

《光明日报》（ 2025年09月23日 06版）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧