The Wrong President Will Attend China’s Military Parade

Of all the major allied powers during the Second World War, the Soviet Union did the least to help China throughout its struggle and the United States did the most.

This a guest post by Dr. David M. Finkelstein, vice president and director of CNA's China and Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Division.

On September 3, the People’s Republic of China will stage what no doubt will be a spectacular military parade to commemorate the 80^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War—known in the PRC as the “Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.” It is a long name. Long, perhaps, because China was at war longer than most countries. Depending upon how one chooses to fix the date, China’s fight in the Second World War began either in 1931, when Imperial Japan’s Kwantung Army invaded Manchuria, or in 1937, with the full-scale invasion of China proper. Regardless, it is undeniable that the people of China fought alone for many years and suffered horrifically, with tens of millions of casualties among soldiers and civilians. The Chinese people have earned their parade.

Among others, the media reports that…