On the morning of September 3, a conference commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War was grandly held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. The grand military parade was held to commemorate this great day with the people of the world and create a brighter future together.

Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered an important speech and reviewed the troops under review. 61 foreign heads of state, heads of government, high-level representatives of relevant countries, heads of international organizations, former political leaders attended the conference.

Earlier, from August 31 to September 1, the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit was held in Tianjin, China. Xi Jinping gathered on the bank of the Haihe River with more than 20 foreign leaders and 10 heads of international organizations. During this period, Xi Jinping attended the last 20 bilateral and multilateral events.

History carries the past and enlightens the future. In the special historical year of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, Xi Jinping solemnly proposed a global governance initiative at the "SCO " meeting on September 1.

Two days later, in a speech commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, Xi Jinping pointed out that today, mankind is facing a choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, win-win or zero-sum. The Chinese people firmly stand on the right side of history and on the progress of human civilization, adhere to the path of peaceful development, and work with people of all countries to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

On September 3, a grand meeting commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War was held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. Before the conference began, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the State, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and the heads of foreign delegations attending the conference went to the Tiananmen Gate Tower. Photo/Xinhua

"Hold the elephant, the world goes"

On the afternoon of August 30 and all day on the 31st, President Xi Jinping held more than 10 meetings with foreign leaders and heads of international organizations who came to China to attend the 2025 SCO Summit in Tianjin, the first one was UN Secretary-General Guterres.

Xi Jinping pointed out that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations. History has inspired us that multilateralism and solidarity are the correct answers to solving global problems.

24 years ago, the SCO came into being in line with the spirit of multilateralism and unity and cooperation. Xing Guangcheng, a member of the academic department of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a national first-level researcher, pointed out in an interview with China Newsweek that the source of the SCO is to solve the most difficult border problems between countries. It not only resolves potential risks well, but also develops a new multilateral cooperation mechanism.

The "Shanghai Spirit" of "mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations, and seeking common development" is the soul of the development of the SCO and is also a valuable experience in defending multilateralism and promoting unity and cooperation.

24 years later, the largest summit since the establishment of the SCO was held in Tianjin. On the morning of September 1, the 25th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO Member States unanimously agreed to accept Laos as a dialogue partner. From 6 founding member countries to "big families" covering 27 countries in Asia, Europe and Africa, the SCO today accounts for about half of the world's population and about one-quarter of the world's total economic output. The field of cooperation has expanded from security to the "three pillars" of security, economic and cultural cooperation.

"Even though the clouds fly, we have achieved success in practicing the 'Shanghai Spirit'," Xi Jinping pointed out.

At present, the world's century-long changes are accelerating, and there are more unstable, uncertain and unpredictable factors. The SCO's responsibility to maintain regional peace and stability and promote development and prosperity of all countries is even more serious. Xi Jinping quoted "The aspiration will not be far away" and called on the SCO to keep in mind its original aspiration and mission and take positive responsibility.

At the summit, the leaders of member states signed and issued the Tianjin Declaration of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, approved the "SCO Development Strategy for the Next 10 Years (2026-2035)", issued a number of statements on the victory of the Second World War and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, and strengthened 24 achievement documents including security, economic, cultural cooperation and organizational construction.

"I am willing to put forward the global governance initiative, and work with all countries to promote the construction of a more just and reasonable global governance system, and work together to move towards a community with a shared future for mankind." At around 16:00 on September 1, at the "SCO " meeting, President Xi Jinping proposed and explained the global governance initiative to the world.

This is another important international public product that China provides to the world after the Global Development Initiative proposed in 2021, the Global Security Initiative proposed in 2022, and the Global Civilization Initiative proposed in 2023, and it is also the biggest highlight of this summit.

80 years ago, the world anti-fascist war achieved a great victory, and the international community learned from the lessons. The establishment of the United Nations represents a new chapter in global governance. Richard Overley, an academician of the National Academy of Academics of the United Kingdom and a professor of history at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, pointed out that China's struggle has made great contributions to the victory of the Allies and promoted the collapse of Western imperialist colonial rule after the war.

80 years later, the trend of the times of peace, development, cooperation and win-win has not changed, and the global southern countries have become a key force that cannot be ignored in global governance. However, the shadow of Cold War thinking, hegemony and protectionism has not dissipated, new threats and challenges have increased, and the world has entered a new period of turbulent and change.

At the "SCO " meeting, Xi Jinping pointed out that we must take "SCO Action" to defend international fairness and justice. All member states uphold the principle of fairness and justice, participate constructively in international and regional affairs, and defend the common interests of the global South.

In response to the governance deficit facing the world today, Xi Jinping calls for sovereign equality, abide by international rule of law, practice multilateralism, advocate people-oriented, and focus on action-oriented.

These five key points respond to questions such as "who governs", "for whom" and "how to govern", and provide a methodology for accelerating reform and improving the global governance system. Leaders of all countries at the meeting welcomed and supported this, and the international community also responded and recognized it widely. In a series of bilateral meetings, global governance initiatives have also become "hot words".

Pakistani Prime Minister Shabaz said that President Xi Jinping’s proposal of global governance is of great significance to world peace, development and stability, and Pakistan will fully support and actively implement it.

Iranian President Pezekichijan said that President Xi Jinping's proposal of global governance is of great significance to promoting the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction. Iran fully supports it and is willing to closely coordinate with China to jointly oppose unilateralism and power politics, maintain peace and stability in the Middle East, and promote the implementation of the global governance initiative.

When meeting with Indian Prime Minister Modi who came to China to attend the SCO summit, Xi Jinping pointed out that China and India are two ancient Eastern civilization countries, two most populous countries in the world, and are also important members of the global South. They shoulder the important responsibility of benefiting the people of the two countries, promoting the unity and revitalization of developing countries, and promoting the progress of human society. Being friendly friends and partners of good neighbors and mutual achievements, and realizing the "dance and elephant dance together" should be the correct choice between China and India.

Modi said that India and China are partners rather than opponents, and the consensus is far greater than differences. India is willing to view and develop bilateral relations from a long-term perspective. Both India and China insist on strategic autonomy and independent diplomacy, and the relationship between the two countries is not affected by third parties. The cooperation between the two countries will truly become the Asian century. The two sides work together to enhance the power of multilateralism in international affairs.

"Hold the elephant, the world goes." On the afternoon of September 1, Xi Jinping quoted the ancient saying in the "Tao Te Ching" at the "SCO " meeting, emphasizing that "China is willing to work with all parties to bravely shoulder the righteousness and practice the great way."

On September 3, a grand meeting commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War was held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China, Chairman of the Central Military Commission Xi Jinping and others were on the Tiananmen Gate Tower. Photo/Xinhua

Gather in Beijing

From the evening of September 1 to noon on September 2, after the SCO summit, Belarusian President Lukashenko, Pakistani Prime Minister Shabaz, Iranian President Pezekichiyang and other foreign leaders took the high-speed rail from Tianjin to Beijing to attend the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War held on September 3.

As the "core area" of the SCO, the leaders of the five Central Asian countries, Kazakh President Tokayev, Uzbekistan President Mirziyoyev, Tajikistan President Rahmon, Kyrgyz President Zaparov, Turkmenistan President Berdemuhamedov, and Azerbaijani President Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Pashniyan, all went to Beijing after the trip to Tianjin.

Russian President Putin also rushed from Tianjin to Beijing. According to Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov, Putin took his presidential car to Beijing, which used Chinese license plates. There are two numbers "8" on the license plate. Russian media interpreted that "8" is a particularly auspicious number in China, symbolizing prosperity and wealth.

In the World Anti-Fascist War, China and the Soviet Union were the main battlefields of Asia and Europe respectively, and were the backbone of the fight against Japanese militarism and German Nazism, making decisive contributions to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. The earliest gunfire of resistance was launched in the People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, with the longest duration, with more than 35 million casualties in Chinese military and civilians. The death toll in the Soviet Union exceeded 27 million. "The Soviet Union and China suffered the greatest human losses in the war, and there were much more war atrocities in the Soviet Union and Chinese territory than anywhere else," said Andrei Kortunov, former director-general of the Russian International Affairs Commission.

On the morning of September 2, Xi Jinping and Putin held talks in Beijing; at noon, Xi Jinping and Putin had a small-scale tea party and banquet. The two sides signed more than 20 bilateral cooperation documents.

Four months ago, from May 7 to 10, President Xi Jinping was invited to pay a state visit to Russia and attended the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union.

During the talks with Putin in Beijing, Xi Jinping pointed out that the heads of state of China and Russia attended each other's victory celebrations to commemorate the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War held by each other, which fully demonstrated the responsibility of a major power as the main victorious country of World War II and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and demonstrated the firm determination to safeguard the achievements of the victory of World War II and defend the correct historical view of World War II.

On the morning of the same day, Xi Jinping also held the seventh meeting of the heads of state of China, Russia and Mongolia with Russian President Putin and Mongolian President Hurry Sulsukh at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

On the evening of September 2, Vietnamese President Liang Qiang arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport by plane. Earlier that day, Vietnam held a celebration of the August Revolution and the 80th anniversary of the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. At the invitation of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Chairman of the Vietnamese Parliament Chen Qingmin, Zhao Leji, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, led a Chinese party and government delegation to visit Vietnam from August 31 to September 2 to attend relevant celebrations, and met with General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Su Lin, President of Vietnam Liang Qiang, and Prime Minister Fan Mingzheng in Hanoi, and held talks with Chen Qingmin.

The Vietnam News Agency pointed out that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Vietnam. On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Vietnam's National Day, China and Vietnam sent high-level representatives to attend each other's important multilateral activities. Vietnamese Prime Minister Fan Mingzheng and President Liang Qiang attended the 2025 SCO Summit and the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War respectively. "The two sides maintain close exchanges and contacts at the top and at all levels, which will help enhance political mutual trust and further consolidate the political foundation of bipartisan and bilateral relations."

On September 1, Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the State Council, set off from the capital Pyongyang by special train and arrived in Beijing on the 2nd. North Korean Foreign Minister Choi Sun-ji and others accompanied him on the visit. This is Kim Jong-un’s fifth visit to China since he became North Korea’s top leader.

Some analysts pointed out that Kim Jong-un's previous public visits were all participating in bilateral activities, and this was his first time to attend a large-scale multilateral diplomatic event. On the eve of visit to China, Kim Jong-un paid tribute to the Sino-North Korea Friendship Tower at the foot of Mudan Peak in Pyongyang on July 26, saying, "We will never forget the combat achievements and achievements of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army martyrs who have been recorded in the history of the great victory of the Motherland's Liberation War."

Among the foreign leaders who made a special trip to China to participate in the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, Serbian President Vucic first arrived in Beijing on the morning of September 2. Vucic has visited China many times and said that China is Serbia's most precious friend and has always provided selfless support and help Serbia to develop its economy and improve people's livelihood. Serbia is an important partner of China in Europe and one of the first European countries to respond, participate in and promote the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative.

Slovak Prime Minister Fitz, who also comes from Europe as Vucic, arrived that afternoon. Fitz said on social media that he came to China to attend the event because of "respect for every victim of the anti-fascist struggle. Out of this respect, I stood with respect in front of the monuments in Moscow, Normandy and Washington. This week, this respect will also extend to Beijing."

Nearly 0:00 on September 3, Cuban President Dias Carnell arrived in Beijing by plane. In November 2022, during Chairman Diaz-Carnell's state visit to China, the two heads of state reached a consensus on jointly building a community with a shared future for the Middle Chou. Dias Carnell said on social media on the 1st that Cuba supports China's global governance initiative and believes that the initiative is conducive to promoting the reform of the global governance system and promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Indonesian President Prabowo, who postponed his visit to China due to changes in the domestic situation, arrived in Beijing on the early morning of September 3. In the afternoon of the same day, Xi Jinping met with Prabowo at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi Jinping pointed out that the President’s efforts to overcome difficulties to attend commemorative activities in China reflect the importance of China-Indonesia relations and the sincere friendship between the Indonesian people for the Chinese people. Xi Jinping also said that China is willing to uphold the original aspiration of establishing diplomatic relations with Indonesia, carry forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the Bandung Spirit, promote the construction of a China-Indonesia community with a shared future at a high level, and make due contributions to the cause of human progress.

On the evening of September 4, the next day to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and World Anti-Fascist War, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and President Xi Jinping held talks with General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the State Council Kim Jong-un at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi Jinping pointed out that General Secretary Kim Jong-un came to China to attend the event commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, which reflects North Korea's firm will to safeguard the achievements of World War II and also provides an important opportunity for the two parties and countries to further develop friendly and cooperative relations.

That night, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un had a small-scale tea party and a banquet.

On September 4, Xi Jinping also intensively met with General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President Tunglun, President of Vietnam Liang Qiang, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party and President of Cuba Dias Kaner, Zimbabwean President Mnangagwa, Congo (Brazza) President Sassu, Slovak Prime Minister Fitz, Serbian President Vucic, etc.

A total of 61 foreign heads of state, heads of government, high-level representatives of relevant countries, heads of international organizations, and former political leaders attended the commemorative activities. It is worth mentioning that former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama also attended the commemorative event. In July this year, Yukio Hatoyama made it clear when attending the 13th World Peace Forum that Japan must continue to apologize for the history of aggression. Japan's war of aggression brought great pain to the Chinese people. As a defeated country, Japan could not ask for forgiveness and could only express its apology and repentance completely.

In addition, China has also invited 50 international friends or representatives of their survivors from 14 countries including Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom. Many guests come from countries that once fought side by side with China. Behind each, there is someone who has written a warm story of injecting strength into China's War of Resistance. Many international friends or their relatives are well-known in China. Some people came to China to participate in the 70th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan ten years ago. The interweaving of old and new figures makes historical memories more vivid in the inheritance.

International public opinion pointed out that the guests attending the commemorative activities cover five continents of the world and are widely representative, reflecting the international community's general recognition of China's historical contribution to the war of resistance and its global significance.

Work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind

80,000 doves of peace spread their wings and fly high, 80,000 balloons soar into the air, and the passionate music of "Singing the Motherland" resounded throughout the square. At 10:26 am on September 3, the conference commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War ended successfully.

Before the conference began, Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan welcomed the heads of the foreign delegation and their spouses attending the conference in the square outside Duanmen, and took a photo with them.

In his speech at the conference, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission Xi Jinping, on behalf of the CPC Central Committee, the National People's Congress, the State Council, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and the Central Military Commission, expressed his highest respect to the Chinese people at home and abroad who have made significant contributions to the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, expressed his sincere gratitude to foreign governments and international friends who have supported and helped the Chinese people resist aggression, and extended a warm welcome to the guests from all countries who attended today's conference.

After the meeting, a reception to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War was grandly held in the Great Hall of the People on the 3rd. Foreign leaders, high-level representatives of relevant countries, heads of international organizations, former political leaders, envoys from various countries to China, military officers and representatives of international organizations to China, international friends who contributed to China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, attended the reception.

Xi Jinping pointed out that strength lies in strength for a while, and success lies in reason for the future. Justice, light, and progress will surely defeat evil, darkness, and reaction. At any time, we must carry forward the common values ​​of all mankind, firmly defend international fairness and justice, and let the world be full of righteousness and the world be bright.

Human beings live on the same planet, and should work together in harmony and never return to the jungle law of the strong. At any time, we must adhere to the path of peaceful development, firmly protect the world's peace and tranquility, and work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

The people are the creators of history, and pursuing a happy and beautiful life is the common aspiration of people of all countries. At any time, we must take the heart of the people and the benefits of the world as our own interests, and make unremitting efforts to improve the welfare of the people.

Chinese-style modernization is the modernization of the path of peaceful development, and China will always be the world's peace, stability and progressive force. We sincerely hope that all countries will learn from history and take harmony as the most important thing, jointly promote world modernization and create a better future for mankind.