China's parade announcement preludes WWII anniversary

China has announced it would hold a military parade this year to mark its victory over Japan, and it will be part of the worldwide commemorative events for the 70th anniversary of the victory of World War II.

This will be the first time China has held a military parade in remembrance of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in the 1930s-40s. The People's Republic of China has held more than a dozen military parades since its founding on Oct. 1, 1949, all of them on the National Day.

The parade this year will be the first since President Xi Jinping took office.

Japan signed the formal surrender on Sept. 2, 1945, and China celebrated its victory the following day. Sept. 3 was declared victory day.

The parade will remind Chinese people living around the world of the war tragedy and inspire them to strive for national rejuvenation, said Zhu Yilong, a CPPCC member who has been living abroad for a number of years.

For Liu Li, a migrant worker and member of the National People's Congress(NPC), China's top legislature, it was exciting to learn the news about the parade.

"Many of my family members were killed by Japanese aggressors during the war. The bitter memory would never fade away," she said. "No one knows better than the Chines people that peace is the most important for human beings."

"The parade will convey to the world that China is devoted to safeguarding international order after WWII, rather challenging it," Yin Zhuo, director of the Expert Consultation Committee of the People's Liberation Army Navy, told Xinhua.

"We must learn from the experience of the war and not repeat the mistakes of the past, " said Yin, also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which opened its annual session today.

China will invite leaders from major countries to the event. Guests will also include heads of the United Nations and other international organizations, and individuals who had helped China to win the war.

Experts believe that with the presence of foreign guests, the parade could enjoy greater influence in the international arena.

The leaders of China and Russia agreed that the two countries will hold joint activities to commemorate the anniversary.

China's resistance against Japanese aggression was an important part of WWII. The parade could further underline the common memory of international cooperation, which led to peace and development, said Mao Xinyu, a military researcher and grandson of late founder of new China Mao Zedong.

Fighting between China and Japan broke out when the latter invaded northeast China in 1931, the situation further with Japan's full-scale invasion in 1937. By the end of WWII, more than 35 million Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed or wounded as a result of Japanese aggression.

Despite this China successfully blocked more than half a million Japanese troops that would otherwise have threatened India or even the United States.