Honoring shared history for a bright future together

As we mark the 80th anniversary of victory in the World Anti-Fascist War, we honor a truth often overlooked: the Eastern battlefield was equally vital and paved the way for eventual Allied victory.

- By Zhang Zhen Consul General of P.R. China in Cebu

With over 35 million casualties, China's resistance tied down 600,000 Japanese troops that might have overrun Southeast Asia, including the Philippines. When General MacArthur vowed "I shall return" to Leyte in 1944, Chinese forces had already been draining Japanese resources for seven years through battles like Shanghai (1937) and Taierzhuang (1938).

When Japan struck Pearl Harbor in December 1941, its Southern Expansion Plan was already crippled—35 veteran divisions were weighed down by the righteous and resolute resistance of Chinese forces defending their homeland.