The CPC’s Role as the Mainstay Is the Key to the Chinese People’s Victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan

Eighty years ago, the Chinese people won the great victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan. This great victory was the historical turning point for the Chinese nation from the deep crisis it had fallen into since modern times toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Over the 14 years of the War of Resistance, the Chinese Communists, as the most steadfast advocates and practitioners of the patriotic spirit, became the strong core leading the Chinese people in the struggle for national independence and people’s liberation through their political propositions, firm will, and exemplary actions. They were worthy of being the mainstay of the entire nation’s War of Resistance and the national vanguard that secured victory in the War of Resistance. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General

80年前，中国人民赢得了抗日战争的伟大胜利。这一伟大胜利是中华民族从近代以来陷入深重危机走向伟大复兴的历史转折点。抗战14年，中国共产党人作为爱国主义精神最坚定的弘扬者和实践者，以自己的政治主张、坚定意志、模范行动，成为领导中国人民争取民族独立和人民解放的坚强核心，无愧为全民族抗战的中流砥柱和夺取抗战胜利的民族先锋。党的十八大以来，习近平总书记多次回顾这段波澜壮阔、荡气回肠的历程，鲜明指出“中国共产党的中流砥柱作用是中国人民抗日战争胜利的关键”、“中国人民抗日战争胜利是中国共产党发挥中流砥柱作用的伟大胜利”。这是对中国人民艰苦卓绝抗战历史的深刻总结，是掷地有声、颠扑不破的历史结论。认真学习领会习近平总书记的相关重要论述，对于我们深入理解中国共产党在抗日战争中的领导地位和伟大贡献，在新征程上毫不动摇坚持和加强党的全面领导，确保党始终成为中国特色社会主义事业的坚强领导核心，具有十分重大而深远的意义。

I. With Outstanding Political Leadership and Correct Strategic Policies, the CPC Guided the Direction of China’s War of Resistance

一、以卓越的政治领导力和正确的战略策略，指引了中国抗战的前进方向

From the day of its founding, the Communist Party of China has taken the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as its historical mission, being the most resolute in defending national independence, the most determined in safeguarding national interests, and the most courageous in resisting foreign aggression. In the great struggle for national liberation, the CPC consistently grasped the direction, the general trend, and the overall situation from a political standpoint, playing an irreplaceable and important guiding role in the victory of the entire nation’s War of Resistance. Facing the ferocious Japanese militarist aggressors, our Party was the first to raise high the banner of armed resistance at the moment of national peril. Based on a scientific analysis of the political situation, it made the major judgment that the contradiction between Japanese imperialism and the Chinese nation had become the principal contradiction. Looking at the entire process of the War of Resistance, whether it was leading the Northeast United Resistance Army in tenacious resistance, extensively carrying out the national salvation movement against Japan, advocating for the establishment of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, or establishing the line of total resistance against Japan, our Party always stood at the forefront, shouldering responsibility, and with strong political leadership, propelled the formation of a historical torrent of the entire nation’s resistance. The Chinese Communists, with Comrade Mao Zedong as their chief representative, in the process of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, took guiding the practice of the War of Resistance as an important source of theoretical innovation. With far-reaching strategic vision and superb political wisdom, they established the Party’s guidelines, tasks, and policies during the War of Resistance, providing scientific guidance for victory.

中国共产党自成立之日起就把实现中华民族伟大复兴作为自己的历史使命，捍卫民族独立最坚定、维护民族利益最坚决、反抗外来侵略最勇敢。在争取民族解放的伟大斗争中，中国共产党始终从政治上把握方向、大势、全局，为全民族抗战胜利发挥了不可替代的重要引领作用。面对穷凶极恶的日本军国主义侵略者，我们党在民族危亡的历史关头率先高举武装抗日旗帜。基于对政治形势的科学分析，作出了日本帝国主义同中华民族的矛盾上升为主要矛盾的重大判断。纵观抗战全过程，无论是领导东北抗日联军顽强抵抗，还是广泛开展抗日救亡运动，无论是倡导建立抗日民族统一战线，还是确立全面抗战路线，我们党始终勇立潮头挺膺担当，以强有力的政治领导推动形成了全民族抗战的历史洪流。以毛泽东同志为主要代表的中国共产党人，在推进马克思主义中国化的进程中，把指导抗战实践作为理论创新的重要源泉，以深远的战略眼光和高超的政治智慧确立了党在抗战时期的方针、任务和政策，为抗战胜利提供了科学指引。

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “Strategy and tactics are powerful weapons for our Party to lead the people in transforming the world, changing practice, and promoting historical development.” The history of the Chinese people’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, a history of shared hatred and bloody battles across mountains and rivers, is precisely a great history of practice in which the CPC made correct strategic judgments and political decisions while devising strategies. Our Party accurately grasped the laws of the War of Resistance, adhered to the principle that soldiers and the people are the foundation of victory, and proposed and implemented the general strategic policy of protracted war along with a complete set of strategies and tactics for a people’s war, drawing up a feasible and effective roadmap to victory for the entire nation’s resistance. Our Party opened up vast enemy rear areas, and guerrilla warfare became an important means and form of warfare for the Chinese military and civilians to defeat the Japanese aggressors. Guerrilla forces and guerrilla warfare gradually developed into regular forces and regular warfare, ultimately becoming the decisive force and method for defeating the Japanese aggressors. After entering the stage of strategic stalemate, the enemy rear areas gradually rose to become the main battlefield of China’s War of Resistance, and by the stage of the strategic counteroffensive, they became the forward positions and strategic bases for the general counteroffensive and the final victory of the War of Resistance. During the War of Resistance, the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army, and the South China People’s Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Forces led by the Party fought more than 125,000 engagements, annihilating over 1.714 million Japanese and puppet troops, and establishing 19 anti-Japanese democratic base areas covering nearly 1 million square kilometers with a population of nearly 100 million. At the Seventh National Congress of the CPC, Comrade Mao Zedong proudly pointed out, “Our Party has become the center of gravity for the Chinese people in resisting Japan and saving the nation, has become the center of gravity for the liberation of the Chinese people, and has become the center of gravity for defeating the aggressors and building a new China.”

习近平总书记指出：“战略与策略是我们党领导人民改造世界、变革实践、推动历史发展的有力武器。”一部同仇敌忾、浴血山河的中国人民抗日战争史，就是中国共产党在运筹帷幄中作出正确战略预判和政治决断的伟大实践史。我们党准确把握抗战规律，坚持兵民是胜利之本，提出并实施持久战的战略总方针和一整套人民战争的战略战术，为全民族抗战制定了切实可行的制胜路线图。我们党开辟广大敌后战场，游击战争成为中国军民战胜日本侵略者的重要战争手段和战争样式，游击军和游击战逐步向正规军和正规战发展，最终成为战胜日本侵略者的决定性力量和战法。敌后战场在进入战略相持阶段后逐步上升为中国抗战的主要战场，到战略反攻阶段成为全面反攻、争取抗战最后胜利的前沿阵地和战略基地。抗战期间，党领导的八路军、新四军和华南人民抗日游击队对敌作战12.5万余次，歼灭日、伪军171.4万余人，建立19块抗日民主根据地，面积近100万平方公里，人口近1亿。毛泽东同志在党的七大上满怀自豪地指出，“我们的党已经成了中国人民抗日救国的重心，已经成了中国人民解放的重心，已经成了打败侵略者、建设新中国的重心”。

Learning from the past, we understand the future. History has fully proven that upholding the Party’s overall leadership is the fundamental guarantee for the prosperity and development of the country and the nation, and the fundamental guarantee for the happiness and well-being of the people of all ethnic groups across the country. The great transformations of the New Era have further demonstrated our Party’s strong political leadership, ideological guidance, mass organization, and social appeal, highlighting the extraordinary strategic planning ability and tactical application level of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. On the new journey, the entire Party must always adhere to the principle that the Party is the highest political leadership force, more deeply understand the decisive significance of the Two Establishments [1]1 A classical Chinese poetic allusion, from the poem "Joy in the Rain" by the Tang dynasty poet Du Fu, adapted here to evoke the collective spirit of national resistance., earnestly practice the Two Upholds [2]2 Xi Jinping, speech at a symposium to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese people’s War of Resistance Against Japan, September 3, 2015. as the Party’s highest political principle and fundamental political rule, and continuously enhance political judgment, political understanding, and political execution. We must steadfast

鉴往事，知来者。历史充分证明，坚持党的全面领导是国家和民族兴旺发达的根本所在，是全国各族人民幸福安康的根本所在。新时代的伟大变革进一步展现了我们党的强大政治领导力、思想引领力、群众组织力、社会号召力，彰显了以习近平同志为核心的党中央非凡的战略擘画能力和策略运用水平。新征程上，全党必须始终坚持党是最高政治领导力量，更加深刻领悟“两个确立”的决定性意义，身体力行“两个维护”这个党的最高政治原则和根本政治规矩，不断增强政治判断力、政治领悟力、政治执行力。要坚持用习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想凝心铸魂，全面贯彻党的基本理论、基本路线、基本方略，牢牢把握以中国式现代化全面推进中华民族伟大复兴的使命任务，用好改革开放这个党和人民事业大踏步赶上时代的重要法宝，坚持把高质量发展作为全面建设社会主义现代化国家的首要任务，更加注重统筹发展和安全，坚持战略定力和策略活力相统一，确保强国建设、民族复兴伟业行稳致远。

II. Taking the Anti-Japanese National United Front as the Banner, It Laid the Broadcast and Deepest Mass Foundation for Defeating the Aggressors

二、以抗日民族统一战线为旗帜，奠定了战胜侵略者最广泛、最深厚的群众基础

The Communist Party of China, as the outstanding organizer, inspirer, and practitioner in uniting and consolidating the entire nation's strength for the War of Resistance, actively advocated for and established the Anti-Japanese National United Front, which played a decisive role in all Chinese people jointly resisting foreign enemies and achieving victory in the War of Resistance. Faced with the stark disparity in strength between China and Japan, securing victory in the War of Resistance required uniting all forces that could be united. From the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic issuing the "Declaration of War Against Japan" in April 1932, proposing to "lead the entire Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and the broad oppressed masses to drive Japanese imperialism out of China through a national revolutionary war," to the publication of the "Letter to All Compatriots on Resisting Japan and Saving the Nation" in October 1935, calling for an end to civil war and united resistance against Japan; from the Wayaobu Conference in December 1935 clearly stating that the Party's basic strategic task was to establish a broad Anti-Japanese National United Front, to the Luochuan Conference in August 1937 formally forming the line of total resistance against Japan, proposing that Communist Party members and the masses and armed forces under their leadership "should stand most actively at the forefront of the struggle and should make themselves the core of the nationwide War of Resistance," our Party continuously deepened its understanding and practice, mobilizing the nation's military and civilian forces to the greatest extent. In particular, it vigorously promoted the peaceful resolution of the Xi'an Incident, creating the prerequisites for the second cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. During the decade of civil war, countless Communists and revolutionary patriots were brutally killed by the Kuomintang reactionaries. After the Xi'an Incident occurred, many inside and outside the Party found it difficult to accept the release of Chiang Kai-shek. On December 28, 1936, Comrade Mao Zedong gave a speech at the Red Army University. When a student asked why Chiang Kai-shek could not be killed, Comrade Mao Zedong replied: If we acted merely out of our Party's private grudges and killed Chiang Kai-shek to vent our hatred, forgetting the greater cause of national survival, could we still call ourselves a Marxist-Leninist Party? In September 1937, the Anti-Japanese National United Front, based on the second Kuomintang-Communist cooperation, was formally established, thereby creating a new situation of "four hundred million people rising up together, united in heart and mind to don the armor of resistance" [1]1 A classical Chinese poetic allusion, from the poem "Joy in the Rain" by the Tang dynasty poet Du Fu, adapted here to evoke the collective spirit of national resistance. against the enemy.

中国共产党作为团结凝聚全民族抗战力量的杰出组织者、鼓舞者、实践者，积极倡导建立了抗日民族统一战线，对全体中华儿女共御外敌夺取抗战胜利起到了决定性作用。面对中日两国的悬殊力量对比，要取得抗战胜利必须团结一切可以团结的力量。从1932年4月中华苏维埃共和国临时中央政府发布《对日战争宣言》，提出“领导全中国工农红军和广大被压迫民众，以民族革命战争驱逐日本帝国主义出中国”，到1935年10月发表《为抗日救国告全体同胞书》，号召停止内战、一致抗日；从1935年12月瓦窑堡会议明确提出党的基本策略任务是建立广泛的抗日民族统一战线，到1937年8月洛川会议正式形成全面抗战路线，提出共产党员及其所领导的民众和武装力量“应该最积极的站在斗争的最前线，应该使自己成为全国抗战的核心”，我们党在认识和实践上不断深化，最大限度地动员了全国的军队和老百姓。特别是力促西安事变和平解决，为国共两党再次合作创造了前提条件。十年内战，数不清的共产党人和革命志士惨遭国民党反动派的杀害。西安事变发生后，党内外许多人对释放蒋介石想不通。1936年12月28日，毛泽东同志到红军大学讲演，有学员问为什么不能杀蒋介石，毛泽东同志回答：如果仅仅从我们党的私仇出发，杀蒋介石来解恨，忘记了民族危亡这个大局，那还能称马列主义的政党吗？1937年9月，以第二次国共合作为基础的抗日民族统一战线正式形成，由此开创了“四万万人齐蹈厉，同心同德一戎衣”的团结抗敌新局面。

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “The CPC held high the banner of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, resolutely upheld, consolidated, and developed the united front, adhered to independence and self-reliance and united resistance against Japan, and safeguarded the overall situation of united resistance against Japan.” As the war situation evolved, the Kuomintang ruling clique showed tendencies toward wavering compromise and anti-communism. The CPC always prioritized the greater interests of the nation, insisted on resistance against Japan and opposed capitulation, insisted on unity and opposed splits, insisted on progress and opposed regression, repelled and halted the three anti-communist high tides stirred up by the die-hard Kuomintang faction, [2]2 Xi Jinping, speech at a symposium to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese people’s War of Resistance Against Japan, September 3, 2015. adhered to “resistance against Japan above all else,” demonstrating a broad-minded vision and a strong sense of historical responsibility, propping up the hope of the entire nation for national salvation from extinction, and promoting the Anti-Japanese National United Front into a broad alliance that united and rallied all anti-Japanese classes, strata, political parties, groups, patriots, ethnic minorities, compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese. North and south of the Yangtze River, inside and outside the Great Wall, all Chinese sons and daughters, braving the enemy’s gunfire, shared the national calamity. The Japanese aggressors, who had once pinned their hopes on China’s disunity, found themselves engulfed in the vast ocean of a people’s war.

习近平总书记指出：“中国共产党高举抗日民族统一战线的旗帜，坚决维护、巩固、发展统一战线，坚持独立自主、团结抗战，维护了团结抗战大局。”随着战争形势的变化，国民党统治集团出现动摇妥协和反共倾向，中国共产党始终以民族大义为重，坚持抗战、反对投降，坚持团结、反对分裂，坚持进步、反对倒退，打退和制止了国民党顽固派掀起的三次反共高潮，坚持“抗日高于一切”，表现出宏大的气度格局和强烈的历史担当，支撑起全民族救亡图存的希望，推动抗日民族统一战线成为团结和凝聚一切抗日的阶级、阶层、政党、团体、爱国人士、少数民族、港澳台同胞、海外侨胞的广泛联盟。大江南北、长城内外，全体中华儿女冒着敌人的炮火共赴国难。曾寄希望于中国分裂的日本侵略者，陷入了人民战争的汪洋大海之中。

History teaches us that the united front is an important magic weapon for the victory of the Party’s cause and must be upheld for the long term. Entering the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has fully leveraged the political role of the united

历史启示我们，统一战线是党的事业取得胜利的重要法宝，必须长期坚持。进入新时代，以习近平同志为核心的党中央充分发挥统一战线凝聚人心、汇聚力量的政治作用，促进政党关系、民族关系、宗教关系、阶层关系、海内外同胞关系和谐，最大限度凝聚起共同奋斗的力量。当前，统一战线面临的时和势、肩负的使命和任务发生了某些重大变化，统战工作不是过时了、不重要了，而是更重要了。新征程上，必须从人心和力量的战略高度看待统一战线，加强党对统一战线工作的全面领导特别是党中央集中统一领导，巩固和发展最广泛的爱国统一战线，完善大统战工作格局，坚持大团结大联合，努力寻求最大公约数、画出最大同心圆，动员全体中华儿女围绕实现中华民族伟大复兴中国梦一起来想、一起来干。

III. Uniting and Leading the Chinese People to Forge the Great Spirit of the War of Resistance, Gathering Powerful Spiritual Strength to Defeat the Enemy

三、团结带领中国人民铸就伟大抗战精神，凝聚了战胜敌人的强大精神力量

The War of Resistance Against Japan was a contest of material forces, and even more so a confrontation of spirit. General Secretary Xi Jinping points out, “The great national spirit with patriotism at its core was the decisive factor in the Chinese people’s victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan.” [2]2 Xi Jinping, speech at a symposium to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese people’s War of Resistance Against Japan, September 3, 2015. Since its birth, the CPC has endured countless hardships and life-and-death trials, tempering its character and quality of fearing no strong enemy, fearing no risk, daring to struggle, and daring to win. In the War of Resistance, which built a new Great Wall with flesh and blood, fallen generals such as Yang Jingyu, Zhao Shangzhi, Zuo Quan, and Peng Xuefeng, and heroic groups like the Eighth Route Army’s “Five Heroes of Langya Mountain,” the New Fourth Army’s “Company of Liu Laozhuang,” and the eight female fighters of the Northeast United Resistance Army, advanced wave upon wave and sacrificed their lives for the nation, composing a magnificent epic that moves heaven and earth. [3]3 Yang Jingyu (1905–1940), Zhao Shangzhi (1908–1942), Zuo Quan (1905–1942), and Peng Xuefeng (1907–1944) were senior CPC military commanders killed in action during the War of Resistance. The “Five Heroes of Langya Mountain” were five Eighth Route Army soldiers who jumped off a cliff rather than surrender in 1941. The “Company of Liu Laozhuang” was a New Fourth Army unit that fought to the last man in 1943. The eight female fighters of the Northeast United Resistance Army drowned themselves in a river in 1938 rather than be captured. Drawn and inspired by the CPC’s powerful truth and strong moral force, the patriotism that flows in the blood of the Chinese nation—indelible, unbreakable, and inextinguishable—converged into a surging will to resist. Countless sons and daughters of China unhesitatingly threw themselves into this great struggle concerning the survival or extinction of the nation. The awakening and unity of the Chinese nation reached an unprecedented height during the War of Resistance, forging the great spirit of the War of Resistance, and showing the world the patriotic sentiment of “everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the nation,” the national integrity of facing death unflinchingly and preferring death to surrender, the heroic spirit of defying brute force and fighting to the bitter end, and the conviction of victory through unyielding perseverance and tenacity.

抗日战争是物质的角力，更是精神的对垒。习近平总书记指出，“以爱国主义为核心的伟大民族精神是中国人民抗日战争胜利的决定因素”。自诞生之日起，中国共产党历经艰难险阻、生死考验，锤炼了不畏强敌、不惧风险、敢于斗争、勇于胜利的风骨和品质。在以血肉之躯筑起新的长城的抗日战争中，杨靖宇、赵尚志、左权、彭雪枫等殉国将领，八路军“狼牙山五壮士”、新四军“刘老庄连”、东北抗联八位女战士等英雄群体前仆后继、为国捐躯，谱写了惊天地、泣鬼神的雄壮史诗。在中国共产党强大真理力量和强大人格力量的吸引感召下，流淌在中华民族血脉之中去不掉、打不破、灭不了的爱国主义精神，汇聚成汹涌澎湃的抗战意志，无数中华儿女义无反顾投身这场关系民族存亡绝续的伟大斗争。中华民族的觉醒和团结在抗战中达到了前所未有的高度，铸就了伟大抗战精神，向世界展示了天下兴亡、匹夫有责的爱国情怀，视死如归、宁死不屈的民族气节，不畏强暴、血战到底的英雄气概，百折不挠、坚忍不拔的必胜信念。

The great victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan was a historical turning point for the Chinese nation from the deep crisis it had fallen into since modern times toward its great rejuvenation, and it was a great victory in which the CPC played the role of the mainstay. Only by remembering history can we create the future. The photo shows the exhibition area “The Mainstay of the Nationwide War of Resistance Against Japan” at the Museum of the Communist Party of China, taken on June 25, 2025. Photo by Liang Yin, courtesy of the Museum of the Communist Party of China.

抗日战争的伟大胜利是中华民族从近代以来陷入深重危机走向伟大复兴的历史转折点，是中国共产党发挥中流砥柱作用的伟大胜利。铭记历史才能开创未来。图为2025年6月25日拍摄的中国共产党历史展览馆“全民族抗日战争的中流砥柱”展区。 中国共产党历史展览馆供图 梁茵/摄

Spirit is the soul on which a nation relies for long-term survival. Edgar Allan Snow called the “unconquerable spirit, that strength, that desire, that passion” he felt in northern Shaanxi “the rich and splendid essence of human history itself.” [4]4 Edgar Snow, *Red Star Over China* (1937), describing the spirit he observed among the CPC in its Yan’an base area. Facing the Japanese imperialists’ use of cultural aggression policies to destroy the will of the Chinese people and thereby extinguish the Chinese nation, our Party effectively mobilized the cultural front, launching a series of unforgettable immortal works. “The March of the Volunteers” and “Yellow River Cantata” spread across the country, igniting the Chinese people’s will to resist. Comrade Mao Zedong profoundly pointed out at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art that, besides “an army with guns,” we also need an indispensable “cultural army.” [5]5 Mao Zedong, “Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art” (May 1942), emphasizing the role of cultural work in the revolutionary struggle. Under the Party’s leadership, this “cultural army” became a mighty force for uniting and educating the people and attacking and destroying the enemy, vividly interpreting the dialectics of matter transforming into spirit and spirit transforming into matter.

精神是一个民族赖以长久生存的灵魂。埃德加·斯诺将他在陕北感受到的“不可征服的那种精神，那种力量，那种欲望，那种热情”称作是“人类历史本身的丰富而灿烂的精华”。面对日本帝国主义以文化侵略政策摧残国人意志，进而灭亡中华民族的图谋，我们党有力动员文化战线，推出一系列深入人心的不朽之作，《义勇军进行曲》、《黄河大合唱》等传唱大江南北，点燃了中国人民的抗日斗志。毛泽东同志在延安文艺座谈会上深刻指出，我们除了有“手里拿枪的军队”，还要有一支必不可少的“文化的军队”。在党的领导下，这支“文化的军队”成为团结教育人民、打击消灭敌人的雄师劲旅，生动诠释了物质变精神、精神变物质的辩证法。

History flows on endlessly, and spirit is passed down from generation to generation. Currently, China is in a critical period for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. To overcome difficulties and achieve new glories, we need the support of a powerful spiritual force. This requires us to carry forward the red lineage, inherit the Party’s glorious traditions, and practice and continue the spiritual genealogy of Chinese Communists. We must always uphold Marxism’s guiding position in the ideological domain, consolidate cultural subjectivity in deepening the Two Integrations, strengthen cultural confidence, and continuously develop a socialist culture with Chinese characteristics for the New Era that possesses strong ideological guidance, spiritual cohesion, value appeal, and international influence. We must vigorously promote the national spirit with patriotism at its core and the spirit of the times with reform and innovation at its core, constantly strengthening the spiritual bond of unity and the spiritual driving force of unremitting self-improvement. We must widely practice the core socialist values, cultivate an uplifting spiritual outlook and a rational and peaceful social mentality, and provide stronger ideological guarantees, more powerful spiritual strength, and more favorable cultural conditions for realizing the Party’s strategic goals on the new journey.

历史川流不息，精神代代相传。当前，我国正处于实现中华民族伟大复兴的关键时期，攻坚克难、再创辉煌，离不开强大精神力量的支撑，需要我们赓续红色血脉，继承党的光荣传统，践行和续写中国共产党人的精神谱系。要始终坚持马克思主义在意识形态领域的指导地位，在深化“两个结合”中巩固文化主体性，坚定文化自信，持续发展具有强大思想引领力、精神凝聚力、价值感召力、国际影响力的新时代中国特色社会主义文化；大力弘扬以爱国主义为核心的民族精神和以改革创新为核心的时代精神，不断增强团结一心的精神纽带、自强不息的精神动力；广泛践行社会主义核心价值观，涵养昂扬向上的精神风貌和理性平和的社会心态，为实现党在新征程上的战略目标提供更为坚强的思想保证、更为强大的精神力量、更为有利的文化条件。

IV. Always Standing on the Right Side of History and on the Side of Fairness and Justice, Gathering the Just Force for Human Development and Progress

四、始终站在历史正确一边、站在公平正义一边，汇聚了人类发展进步的正义力量

Marx and Engels believed that the nature of a war is the political foundation determining victory or defeat; any war aimed at resisting foreign aggression and plunder, opposing class oppression and exploitation, or advancing social change is a just war. The brutal aggression of Japanese militarism, its heinous slaughter, and its savage plunder and destruction brought unprecedented catastrophe to the Chinese people and the peoples of many Asian countries. From the very beginning, the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japan held the great significance of saving human civilization and defending world peace, and it was an important part of the World Anti-Fascist War. In the great cause of saving the nation from subjugation, achieving national independence and the liberation of the people, and striving for world peace, the Communist Party of China followed the path of righteousness, always stood on the side of human progress, and fought side by side with all peace-loving countries and peoples in the world. As early as 1937, on the eve of the full-scale Japanese invasion of China, our Party proposed the establishment of a Pacific united front among China, Britain, the United States, France, and the Soviet Union. In 1941, it issued the “Declaration of the Communist Party of China on the Pacific War,” formally announcing to the world the Party’s policy of establishing an anti-Japanese united front with Britain and the United States. As Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out in the preface to the English translation of *On Protracted War*, “The great war of resistance in China is not only a matter for China, nor only a matter for the East, but a matter for the whole world.” With its unshakable will to resist and its heroic and tenacious actions in the war, the Communist Party of China became the “beacon” of the Eastern theater. International friends such as Norman Bethune, Dwarkanath Kotnis, Agnes Smedley, and Israel Epstein, with different skin colors, speaking foreign languages, and wearing the uniforms of the Eighth Route Army, had already become part of the Chinese revolutionary ranks. As the main Eastern theater of the World Anti-Fascist War, the Chinese theater long pinned down and engaged the main forces of Japanese militarism. It not only achieved the survival of the nation and the state but also effectively coordinated with and supported the operations of the Allied forces in the European and Pacific theaters, making a historic contribution to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War, winning the respect of peace-loving peoples worldwide and broad acclaim from the international community.

马克思恩格斯认为，战争性质是决定战争胜负的政治基础，凡是以反对外族侵略和掠夺，以反对阶级压迫和剥削，以推进社会变革为目的的战争都是正义战争。日本军国主义惨无人道的侵略行径、令人发指的屠杀罪行、野蛮疯狂的掠夺破坏，给中国人民和广大亚洲国家人民带来了惨绝人寰的灾难。中国人民抗日战争，从一开始就具有拯救人类文明、保卫世界和平的重大意义，是世界反法西斯战争的重要组成部分。中国共产党在挽救民族危亡、实现民族独立和人民解放、争取世界和平的伟大事业中循道而行，始终站在人类进步一边，同世界上一切爱好和平的国家和人民并肩作战。早在1937年日军全面侵华前夕，我们党就提出中、英、美、法、苏五国建立太平洋联合战线的主张，1941年发出《中国共产党为太平洋战争的宣言》，正式向世界宣布中国共产党确立与英美等国建立反日统一战线的政策。正如毛泽东同志在《论持久战》英译本序言中所指出的，“伟大的中国抗战，不但是中国的事，东方的事，也是世界的事”。中国共产党以坚如磐石的抗战意志和英勇顽强的抗战行动，成为东方战场的“灯塔”，白求恩、柯棣华、史沫特莱、爱泼斯坦等肤色各异、说着外语、穿着八路军军服的国际友人，已然成为中国革命队伍的一部分。作为世界反法西斯战争的东方主战场，中国战场长期牵制和抗击了日本军国主义的主要兵力，不仅实现了国家和民族的救亡图存，而且有力配合支援了盟军在欧洲战场和太平洋战场的作战，为世界反法西斯战争胜利作出了历史性贡献，赢得了世界爱好和平人民的尊敬，赢得了国际社会的广泛赞誉。

On May 7, 2025, while en route to Moscow for a state visit to Russia and to attend the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Soviet Union’s Great Patriotic War, President Xi Jinping published a signed article in *Rossiyskaya Gazeta* titled “Learning from History to Create a Better Future,” emphasizing the need to “uphold a correct view of the history of World War II” and “firmly defend international fairness and justice.” At present, changes unseen in a century are accelerating, unilateralism and hegemonic, bullying, and domineering acts are causing profound harm, and humanity once again stands at a crossroads between unity and division, dialogue and confrontation, and win-win outcomes and zero-sum games. We must learn from history, draw wisdom and strength from the profound lessons of World War II and the great victory of the World Anti-Fascist War, resolutely oppose any words or deeds that deny the history of aggression or even glorify wars of aggression and colonial rule, resolutely oppose all plots to distort the truth of World War II history and negate the fruits of its victory, and resolutely oppose all forms of hegemonism and power politics. We must uphold and promote the common values of all humanity, practice a correct view of righteousness and benefit in international relations, always act as a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order, and work with all countries to strive for a brighter future for the destiny of humanity.

2025年5月7日，在赴莫斯科对俄罗斯进行国事访问并出席纪念苏联伟大卫国战争胜利80周年庆典之际，国家主席习近平在《俄罗斯报》发表题为《以史为鉴 共创未来》的署名文章，强调“要坚持正确二战史观”，“坚定捍卫国际公平正义”。当前，百年大变局加速演进，单边主义、霸权霸道霸凌行径危害深重，人类又一次站在了团结还是分裂、对话还是对抗、共赢还是零和的十字路口。要以史为鉴，从第二次世界大战的深刻教训和世界反法西斯战争的伟大胜利中汲取智慧力量，坚决反对任何否认侵略历史甚至美化侵略战争和殖民统治的言行，坚决反对一切歪曲二战历史真相、否定二战胜利成果的图谋，坚决反对一切形式的霸权主义和强权政治。要坚持弘扬全人类共同价值，在国际关系中践行正确义利观，始终做世界和平的建设者、全球发展的贡献者、国际秩序的维护者，携手各国为人类命运争取更加光明的未来。

V. Launching the Great Project of Party Building, Providing a Strong Political Guarantee for the Party to Play Its Mainstay Role in the War of Resistance Against Japan

五、开启党的建设伟大工程，为党在抗日战争中发挥中流砥柱作用提供了强有力政治保证

The 14 years of the War of Resistance Against Japan were not only a critical period for the survival of the Chinese nation but also an important time for the growth and strengthening of the Communist Party of China. Party building became an important magic weapon for the Party to defeat its enemies in the Chinese revolution. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out, “Without the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the task of achieving national independence and liberation might have been delayed longer and come at a greater cost.” From the Zunyi Conference to the Enlarged Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Party, and then to the Seventh National Congress of the Party, each pivotal moment in the Party’s history that carried forward the past and opened up the future witnessed the extraordinary journey of our Party in establishing correct military, political, ideological, organizational, and mass lines, and also witnessed the great journey in which our Party, through its own maturation and growth, continuously seized the initiative in the War of Resistance. During this period, our Party launched the Yan’an Rectification Movement, [6]6 The Yan’an Rectification Movement (1942–1945) was a Party-wide campaign to correct subjectivist, sectarian, and stereotypical writing styles, aimed at establishing a Marxist style of study, work, and writing. broke the erroneous tendency to dogmatize Marxism and sanctify the resolutions of the Communist International and the experience of the Soviet Union, adopted the “Resolution on Certain Historical Questions,” [7]7 The “Resolution on Certain Historical Questions” was adopted at the Seventh Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee in 1945, summarizing the Party’s historical experience and unifying understanding. and achieved new unity and solidarity of the entire Party under the leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Mao Zedong at its core, laying an important political and ideological foundation for the victory of the War of Resistance. The Party Central Committee successively issued the “Resolution on the Large-Scale Development of Party Members” and the “Decision on Consolidating the Party,” proposing to “develop Party members tenfold and a hundredfold,” and made every effort to consolidate Party organizations, cultivating and training a large number of backbone cadres for the War of Resistance, and building strong Party grassroots bastions in the anti-Japanese democratic base areas.

抗日战争的14年既是关系中华民族生死存亡的关键阶段，也是中国共产党发展壮大的重要时期，党的建设成为党在中国革命中战胜敌人的重要法宝。习近平总书记深刻指出，“如果没有中国共产党领导，完成民族独立和解放的任务就可能拖得更久、付出的代价更大”。从遵义会议到党的扩大的六届六中全会，再到党的七大，党史上一个个承前启后的重要节点，见证了我们党确立正确军事路线、政治路线、思想路线、组织路线、群众路线的不平凡历程，也见证了我们党以自身的成熟壮大不断赢得抗战主动的伟大征途。这一时期，我们党开展延安整风运动，破除党内把马克思主义教条化、把共产国际决议和苏联经验神圣化的错误倾向，作出《关于若干历史问题的决议》，实现了全党在以毛泽东同志为核心的党中央领导下的新的团结和统一，为抗战胜利奠定了重要政治和思想基础。党中央相继作出《关于大量发展党员的决议》、《关于巩固党的决定》，提出“大量的十百倍的发展党员”，并尽一切努力巩固党的组织，培养造就了大批抗日骨干力量，在各抗日民主根据地筑牢了党在基层的战斗堡垒。

At a time when the nation was humiliated, the people were subjected to suffering, and civilization was covered in dust, only an advanced and pure political party could bear the historical mission of leading the Chinese nation from darkness to light. In October 1939, Comrade Mao Zedong, in the introductory remarks to *The Communist*, [8]8 *The Communist* was an intra-Party journal founded in 1939, in which Mao Zedong’s introductory remarks elaborated on the “great project” of Party building. clarified the task of “building a Bolshevik-style Communist Party of China that is nationwide, broadly mass-based, and fully consolidated ideologically, politically, and organizationally,” and called this task a “great project.” By implementing this great project, our Party, with unified thought, firm will, coordinated action, and strong combat effectiveness, united like one person, bravely shouldered the heavy responsibility of national salvation, became the backbone of persisting in the War of Resistance, and enabled the Chinese people to see the bright hope of national victory and the bright future of national development. Tempered by the flames of the War of Resistance, our Party continuously matured, maintaining the advanced nature and purity of a Marxist political party. This was an important political guarantee for our Party’s ability to lead the people to win the great victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan.

在国家蒙辱、人民蒙难、文明蒙尘之际，唯有一个先进纯洁的政党才能担负起引领中华民族从黑暗走向光明的历史使命。1939年10月，毛泽东同志在《〈共产党人〉发刊词》中明确了“建设一个全国范围的、广大群众性的、思想上政治上组织上完全巩固的布尔什维克化的中国共产党”的任务，并将这一任务称之为“伟大的工程”。通过实施这个伟大工程，我们党以统一的思想、坚定的意志、协调的行动、强大的战斗力，团结得像一个人一样，勇敢地承担起救亡重任，成为坚持抗战的中坚力量，使中国人民看到了民族胜利的美好希望和国家发展的光明前途。经受抗日烽火的洗礼，我们党不断走向成熟，保持了马克思主义政党的先进性和纯洁性，这是我们党能够领导人民赢得抗日战争伟大胜利的重要政治保证。

The most difficult thing for a political party is to remain true to its original aspiration and founding mission through the vicissitudes of time and to maintain its true character through hardships. Entering the New Era, our Party has led great social revolution with great self-revolution, starting with the formulation and implementation of the Eight-Point Regulations to break new ground, deploying a comprehensive set of measures for comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, achieving an overwhelming victory in the fight against corruption and consolidating it comprehensively, fundamentally reversing the lax and soft state of Party governance and management, and finding the second answer to the historical cycle of rise and fall. [9]9 The “second answer” refers to the Party’s self-revolution, as opposed to the first answer of democratic supervision proposed by Mao Zedong in 1945 to break the historical cycle of rise and fall. At the same time, it must be recognized that the “four major tests” and “four dangers” [10]10 The “four major tests” are tests of governance, reform and opening up, market economy, and external environment; the “four dangers” are dangers of spiritual slackness, insufficient capacity, detachment from the people, and passive corruption. facing the Party will persist for a long time. We must always maintain the sobriety and determination to solve the unique problems of a large party, adhere to comprehensively advancing the new great project of Party building with a spirit of reform and innovation, fully implement the general requirements for Party building in the New Era, adhere to using the Party’s political building to lead all aspects of Party building, continuously enhance the Party’s capacity for self-purification, self-improvement, self-renovation, and self-enhancement, and ensure that the Party becomes the mainstay of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

一个政党最难的就是历经沧桑而初心不改、饱经风霜而本色依旧。进入新时代，我们党以伟大自我革命引领伟大社会革命，从制定实施中央八项规定开局破题，打出一套全面从严治党“组合拳”，反腐败斗争取得压倒性胜利并全面巩固，管党治党宽松软状况得到根本扭转，党找到了跳出治乱兴衰历史周期率的第二个答案。同时也要看到，党面临的“四大考验”、“四种危险”将长期存在，必须时刻保持解决大党独有难题的清醒和坚定，坚持以改革创新精神全面推进党的建设新的伟大工程，全面落实新时代党的建设总要求，坚持以党的政治建设统领党的建设各项工作，持续增强党自我净化、自我完善、自我革新、自我提高能力，确保党成为中国特色社会主义事业的中流砥柱。

Only by remembering history can we create the future. To draw strength for moving forward from the great spirit of the War of Resistance and the inheritance of the red genes, and to embark with full confidence on a new journey full of glory and dreams, we must firmly grasp that the leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the greatest strength of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics. We must unite more closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, strengthen the Four Consciousnesses, [11]11 The Four Consciousnesses are the consciousness of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment with the central Party leadership. fortify the Four Confidences, [12]12 The Four Confidences are confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics. and achieve the Two Upholds, [13]13 The Two Upholds are upholding General Secretary Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and upholding the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee. gather the wisdom and strength of all the people, and unswervingly advance towards the grand goal of building a strong country and achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

铭记历史才能开创未来。从伟大抗战精神以及红色基因的传承中汲取前行的力量，满怀信心开启充满光荣和梦想的新征程，必须牢牢把握中国共产党的领导是中国特色社会主义最本质的特征和中国特色社会主义制度的最大优势，更加紧密地团结在以习近平同志为核心的党中央周围，增强“四个意识”、坚定“四个自信”、做到“两个维护”，凝聚全体人民的智慧和力量，坚定不移朝着强国建设、民族复兴的宏伟目标奋勇前进。

Online Editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心