By Her Excellency Yang Yang, Chinese Ambassador to Guyana

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 as well as the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. Alongside people from all over the world, China will solemnly hold commemorative events, including a memorial meeting, a military parade, a reception, and a national memorial ceremony, to revisit history and honour the martyrs. China will remain a staunch supporter, defender and promoter of world peace and development.

Eighty years ago, China resolutely resisted Japanese aggression and made significant contributions to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War.

The World Anti-Fascist War was the largest and most destructive conflict in human history, engulfing Asia, Europe, Africa, and Oceania, bringing profound suffering to two billion people and inflicting unprecedented destruction on human civilisation.

More than 80 countries and regions were drawn into the war, including British Guiana, where some of its people joined British forces to fight in the European and Asian theatres. British Guiana also supplied critical strategic resources such as bauxite and timber to the Allied forces. This war was a monumental struggle of justice over evil and progress over reaction, and its victory profoundly influenced the advancement of human civilisation, giving rise to a wave of newly independent nations, including Guyana.

The Chinese theatre was the main battleground of the World Anti-Fascist War, and the Chinese People’s War of Resistance was an integral part of this global struggle. Some Guyanese friends may not know that China’s national anthem, March of the Volunteers, was born amid the flames of the War of Resistance.

China’s fight began the earliest, lasted the longest, and demanded the greatest sacrifices. From the September 18th incident in 1931 to Japan’s unconditional surrender in 1945, the Chinese people waged a 14-year-long war against Japanese fascism.

China suffered immense losses, with over 35 million military and civilian casualties and economic damages totalling 500 billion USD.

The tenacious resistance of the Chinese people pinned down and fought the main forces of Japan’s fascist army, eliminating more than 1.5 million Japanese troops and playing a decisive role in defeating the Japanese aggressors.

The Chinese People’s War of Resistance received support and assistance from peace-loving and justice-pursuing nations, people, international organisations, and anti-fascist forces worldwide. Many anti-fascist fighters from the Soviet Union, the United States, Canada, India, and other countries travelled from afar to join China’s resistance, with many sacrificing their lives. The Chinese government and people will never forget their contributions.

The Chinese nation made historic contributions to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. China actively coordinated with Allied operations in Europe and the Pacific, thwarting attempts by Japanese and German fascists to unite, preventing the Soviet Union from fighting on two fronts, delaying Japan’s southward advance, and easing military pressure on the U.S. and Britain in the Pacific.

Former U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, once remarked that “the magnificent defence of China” was one of the two key factors in stopping Hitler’s plan of world domination. China also deployed troops abroad to directly support Allied forces.

In 1942, the Chinese Expeditionary Force entered Burma, repeatedly defeating Japanese troops and rescuing thousands of encircled British soldiers. In 1944, 24 Chinese naval cadets participated in the Normandy landings, earning commendation from Former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. Additionally, China provided vast quantities of strategic supplies and military intelligence, contributing manpower, resources, and financial support to the anti-fascist war.

Over the past 80 years, China has adhered to a path of peaceful development and played a vital role in safeguarding world peace and stability.

Amid the aftermath of the World Anti-Fascist War, the international community reflected deeply and united to establish an international order and system centred on the United Nations and grounded in the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, laying the foundation for post-war peace and development—a hard-won achievement of humanity’s collective effort and sacrifice. As one of the major victorious nations, China actively participated in this historic process and made significant contributions, becoming the first country to sign the UN Charter.

Over the past eight decades, while pursuing its own development, China has supported and practised multilateralism through concrete actions, playing a constructive role in maintaining world peace and development. China is the largest troop contributor to peacekeeping operations among the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the second largest contributor to the UN’s regular budget and peacekeeping assessments.

For years, China has contributed around 30 per cent of global economic growth and over 70 per cent of global poverty reduction.

Since President Xi Jinping’s proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative more than a decade ago, China has signed co-operation agreements with over 150 countries, with cumulative direct investment in partner nations exceeding $350 billion, significantly boosting economic development and social stability across the globe.

President Xi Jinping has put forward the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, along with the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative, fostering broad consensus to address contemporary challenges. These initiatives inject momentum into shared development, rally forces for peace, and guide cultural exchange, making them well-received and widely supported among more than 100 countries and international organizations.

Eighty years on, China steadfastly fulfills its responsibilities as a major country, proposing Chinese solutions to jointly tackle challenges and shape the future.

Today’s world faces increasing changes and turbulence, with regional conflicts erupting incessantly. Unilateralism, protectionism, and hegemonism have dealt a heavy blow to the international order. As multipolarity and economic globalisation encounter numerous challenges, humanity stands once again at a crossroads—solidarity or division, dialogue or confrontation, win-win or zero-sum. We must learn from history, drawing wisdom and strength from the lessons of World War II and the great victory of the world anti-fascist war, resolutely opposing all forms of hegemonism and power politics to jointly create a brighter future for humanity.

We must uphold a correct view of WWII history- the history of WWII documents both the crimes of war and the heroic deeds of anti-fascist forces. All peace-loving nations and people need to remain vigilant and firmly oppose any distortion of historical truths or denial of the war’s victorious outcomes. Only by correctly understanding history can we avoid repeating past mistakes, draw valuable lessons, and forge a better future.

We must resolutely safeguard the post-war international order. The conflicts and injustices in today’s world do not arise because the purposes and principles of the UN Charter are outdated, but precisely because they have not been fully implemented. The more turbulent the international landscape becomes, the more we must uphold the UN’s authority and promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation.

Taiwan’s return to China is an integral part of the WWII victory and the post-war international order. The Cairo Declaration, Potsdam Proclamation, and other legally binding documents unequivocally affirm China’s sovereignty over Taiwan. These historical and legal facts are indisputable, the authority of UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 is unshakable, and the inevitable historical trend of the reunification of China is unstoppable.

We must build a community with a shared future for mankind. 80 years ago, people across the globe fought courageously and shoulder-to-shoulder to defeat the mighty forces of fascism. Similarly, today’s humanity must cooperate to overcome security dilemmas, dialogue to bridge civilisational divides, and unite to confront shared challenges.

President Xi Jinping’s vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, along with the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative, inherits and builds upon the invaluable lessons of the world anti-fascist war, offering Chinese solutions to tackling global challenges and building a shared promising future.

China stands ready to work with Guyana and all peace-loving nations to preserve the fruits of WWII’s victory, practise true multilateralism, and contribute wisdom and strength to build a community with a shared future for mankind and an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security and shared prosperity.