A monument marking the September 18 Incident in Shenyang, Liaoning Province Photo: Sun Long/CSST

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This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. In studying this history, it is important to resist two major misconceptions. The first is the denial of the CPC’s persistence in resistance and the erasure of its historical role and significance in the war. The second is the failure to recognize China’s major contribution to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War, while exaggerating—or deliberately inflating—the role played by countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom in the defeat of German, Italian, and Japanese fascism. These tendencies distort public understanding and especially undermine young people’s historical memory of the war.

Significance of September 18 Incident 

On Sept. 3, 2014, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, delivered an important speech at a symposium commemorating the 69th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. In his speech, he emphasized that the September 18 Incident marked the starting point of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and raised the curtain of the World Anti-Fascist War. His remarks not only underscored the pivotal role of the September 18 Incident in China’s wartime history, but also highlighted its broader significance in the global struggle against fascism.

On Sept. 18, 1931, Japan launched the incident and swiftly occupied northeast China, with the goal of dominating China and seeking global hegemony. The Chinese people mounted a courageous resistance, marking the beginning of the Second World War and the opening of the world’s first major anti-fascist battlefield. 

Varying viewpoints exist within academia regarding the true starting point of WWII—the most commonly cited being Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland on Sept. 1, 1939. However, a growing number of scholars, both in China and abroad, argue that the war began with the September 18 Incident in 1931. The incident clearly embodied the anti-colonial and anti-oppression aims of national liberation movements, while also carrying a global character as a fight against fascist aggression and expansion. In this sense, it epitomized a critical expression of the worldwide, long-standing resistance to colonial domination.

CPC as backbone of resistance 

After the September 18 Incident, as Japan launched large-scale attacks and occupied northeast China, the CPC was the first to raise the banner of resistance, galvanizing national resolve. On April 15, 1932, the provisional central government of the Chinese Soviet Republic issued the “Declaration of War Against Japan,” calling for a national revolutionary war to expel Japanese imperialism from China. 

In July 1934, the CPC dispatched the Seventh Red Army as a “vanguard against Japanese aggression” to “march northward to fight against Japan.” Meanwhile, the Party moved deep behind enemy lines to support the Northeast People’s Volunteer Army Against Japanese Aggression and form the Northeast United Army Against Japanese Aggression, which dealt significant blows to Japanese and puppet forces. These actions greatly boosted public confidence and laid the groundwork for the nationwide resistance that surged following the July 7 Incident. 

The CPC proposed and facilitated the establishment of the broadest possible national united front against Japanese aggression. It remained steadfast in resisting surrender, advocating unity over division, progress over regression, and worked consistently to maintain the united front. It also actively participated in the establishment of an international anti-fascist alliance, ensuring the resistance followed a principled political course. This leadership provided the essential political foundation for final victory in the war.

The CPC and the military and civilian forces against Japanese aggression under its command waged a protracted struggle, opening up a vast backstage battlefield behind enemy lines. These efforts complemented the center stage battlefield and played a vital role in securing national victory. With unparalleled political leadership, unwavering faith, indomitable courage, and relentless effort, the CPC truly served as the backbone of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. 

China: Main theater in East 

From the September 18 Incident in 1931 to Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in October 1935, China stood as the world’s only anti-fascist battlefield. From then until the outbreak of the Pacific War in December 1941, it remained the sole anti-fascist front in the East. China was the earliest, longest-lasting, and most casualty-laden theater of WWII. 

Over the course of the war, Chinese military and civilian casualties reached an estimated 35 million. Based on 1937 price levels, direct economic losses amounted to $100 billion, with indirect losses reaching $500 billion. Yet the Chinese people, undaunted, thwarted Japan’s arrogant plans of “quick war” and the “annihilation of China within three months.” The Chinese army consistently pinned down the bulk of Japan’s ground forces, preventing their retreat and redeployment elsewhere.

The battlefield in China constrained and shattered the Japanese army’s “Northward Advance” plan, providing strong support for the Soviet Union’s patriotic war efforts. It delayed Japanese invaders’ “Southward Advance” strategy and effectively assisted the Allied Forces in the Southeast Asian theater. It also shattered the Japanese High Command’s delusions of meeting Germany and Italy in Central Asia in their “Westward Advance” dreams, and cooperated practically with the allies’ “Europe-First” strategy. In this way, China played an indispensable role in defeating the German, Italian, and Spanish fascists and forcing Japan to surrender unconditionally. It was, beyond question, the principal theater of the World Anti-Fascist War in the East.

Xu Zhimin is a research fellow from the Chinese Academy of History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 

Edited by  CHEN MIRONG