79 years on, China's role in global peace and the road ahead

September 3 marks the 79th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

The Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was integral to the global struggle against fascism. Japan's invasion of China began on September 18, 1931, when its troops attacked Chinese barracks near Shenyang, the capital city of present-day Liaoning Province in northeast China—a flagrant breach of the international security order established after World War I.

Six years later, on July 7, 1937, Japanese soldiers attacked Chinese forces at the Lugou Bridge in Beijing, marking the beginning of Japan's full-scale invasion and China's nationwide resistance. Japan announced its unconditional surrender on August 15, 1945, and formally signed its surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.

Starting in 2014, China's Standing Committee of the National People's Congress designated September 3 as Victory Day to underscore China's significant contribution to the Allied victory in World War II.

As the main eastern battlefield of World War II, China played a pivotal role in securing global peace, as emphasized by Mikhail Morozov, deputy editor-in-chief of Russia's Trud newspaper, in an interview with Xinhua. He noted that China's involvement was "enormous," with 35 million Chinese soldiers and civilians killed or wounded in the conflict.

"All new historical documents show that the actions of the Chinese troops throughout World War II fettered the Japanese army, preventing it from entering the war against the Soviet Union as Adolf Hitler demanded of Tokyo," he said.

In recent years, some forces have been distorting the truths about World War II out of their political interests, and against this backdrop, "cooperation between China and Russia in opposing attempts to rewrite history is difficult to overestimate," he added.

On how to accomplish this modernization of the largest scale in human history, China has given an unequivocal and steadfast answer: to follow the path of peaceful development unswervingly, said China's senior diplomat Wang Yi during the Munich Security Conference in 2022.

Peaceful development is not an expediency nor diplomatic rhetoric but a strategic choice informed by profound reflections on the past, the present, and the future, Wang said.

Looking over the past, China suffered deeply from foreign aggression and expansion in modern times, so that China fully appreciates the value of peace and the importance of development, he noted.

"On major issues related to the future of mankind, China's participation is indispensable," said Chen Liming, chair of Greater China at the World Economic Forum.

As the world's second-largest economy, China plays a crucial role in many fields such as global politics, economy, and technological innovation, Chen told Xinhua in a recent interview.

The global governance system is undergoing profound changes, with China playing an increasingly important role in improving the system, he added.

"China is ready to work with all countries to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security and shared prosperity. The road ahead may be tortuous, but the future is bright," Wang Yi said at a press conference held on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress in March this year.

(With input from Xinhua)