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The war can be viewed from both international and national perspectives.

Internationally, China made a significant contribution in the war. Among the Allies, China was the first to engage in anti-aggression war and its struggle lasted the longest. There is no question that Japan, Italy, and Germany, the three aggressors in World War II have traumatised humanity. The trio’s invasions of other countries started before World War II with Japan taking the lead. In the September 18th Incident in 1931, Japan invaded Northeast China and the Chinese rose to resist. In 1932 and 1933, intense battles broke out in Shanghai (上海) and along the Great Wall. Before the Pacific War, which broke out on 8 December 1941, China had already fought the Japanese single-handed for a decade. Although overwhelmed by Japan’s military power, the Chinese army broke down a considerable number of the enemy’s forces. Caught in the protracted war with China, Japan’s overall plan in World War II hampered.

During the Pacific War, China sent a large number of expeditionary troops to Myanmar to aid British and American allies despite its own plight. The Chinese Expeditionary Force became a deciding factor in the Allies’ victory in Myanmar. Moreover, the China War Zone occupied a large amount of Japanese personnel and resources. In the Eight Years’ Total War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression from 1937 to 1945, 40 Japanese senior commanders died. The NRA led by the Nationalist government killed 35 Japanese commanders, including two admirals, one general, eleven lieutenant generals, twenty major generals, and one rear admiral. The 8th Route Army and the New Fourth Army led by the Chinese Communist Party (中國共產黨) killed five Japanese commanders, including four lieutenant generals and one major general. Various records suggest that over 400,000 or 700,000 Japanese soldiers died on the battlefields in China, with Japan’s total casualties exceeding one million. Altogether more than one million Japanese soldiers joined the China Expeditionary Army and another 700,000 formed the Kwantung Army. As the China War Zone detained 60% of the Japanese ground force and a large sum of its air force and navy, Japan could not concentrate on fighting the United States and Britain. Although it was the United States that played a decisive role in Japan’s surrender, China’s contribution to the final victory of the war cannot be ignored.

From China’s position, the war left an imprint on China’s military, public and international standing.

First of all, the Chinese military showed courage, nobility, and a willingness to sacrifice in the War of Resistance. Before the war, Japan was a major world power and China’s military strength was no match for the former. Besides a shortage of munitions, China even lacked the most basic materials, such as sandbags. It seemed unlikely that China could survive an invasion from Japan. Therefore, Japan initially planned to take China in three months. The Chinese troops, however, had on their side huge manpower and strong patriotic sentiment. Therefore, China’s casualties were often several times more than that of Japan in the prolonged fighting. The Nationalist Government’s statistics showed that in the eight years of the full-out war, the two sides had 22 major battles, 1,117 combats and 38,931 smaller scale engagements where the NRA lost 200 officers above the rank of division commanders. 3,211,419 people in China’s ground force were killed, wounded or missing. The air force lost 4,321 personnel and 2,468 planes. The navy lost almost all of its warships. In many engagements, it was the NRA soldiers’ flesh and blood against the Japanese heavy fire, hence the wartime slogan “an inch of blood for an inch of territory”. In the end, the Chinese soldiers’ integrity lived up to the expectations of the nation.

Second, there was the unyielding spirit of the Chinese people. The public supported the War of Resistance by various ways including working on production, fundraising, publishing war-time posters, and enlisting in the army. The war inflicted an estimation of 30 million Chinese casualties, although the exact number is hard to pin down. It was the people’ solidarity, fortitude, and sacrifice that sustained China’s defence until Japan’s surrender. The War of Resistance manifested the integrity of the Chinese nation.

Third, China’s international status rose substantially. Since the mid-19th century, China’s overall strength and international standing had been on the decline. When China’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression turned into a major sector of World War II, China became a key power of the Allies with growing international influence. During the war, China also attended international conferences such as the Cairo Conference. It negotiated with the Western powers to abolish the unequal treaties signed over the past century. After the war ended, China became one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was a turning point for China’s status in the international community.