The Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression was a period of unparalleled suffering and a testament to the nation's unyielding spirit. Between 1931 and 1945, over 20 million Chinese lost their lives, and as many as 100 million were forced to flee their homes. 

Cities were reduced to rubble: In Changsha, Hunan Province, alone, a scorched-earth policy in 1938 destroyed over 56,000 buildings and claimed some 30,000 lives. These tragedies were part of a broader “national catastrophe” that tested the Chinese people’s survival. Yet, out of the ashes rose a nation that refused to surrender. For 14 long years, China bore the brunt of Japanese aggression, tying down vast numbers of enemy divisions and bleeding the Imperial Japanese Army at immense human cost.

This unrelenting resistance safeguarded China’s sovereignty and shielded its allies by forcing Tokyo to commit hundreds of thousands of troops to the mainland. In doing so, China made itself essential to the global victory over fascism and secured a place as one of the great powers shaping the post-war order.

In absolute numbers, historians estimate that Japanese troop levels in China during operations ranged from a few hundred thousand to around 1 million. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops lost their lives in the fighting in China, with total casualties exceeding 1 million.

China’s strong resistance earned it a place among the Allies’ “Big Four” – together with the U.S., Great Britain and the Soviet Union – as then U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt envisioned them. China’s status among the victorious powers was reinforced at the Cairo Conference (November 22–26, 1943).

The Cairo Declaration of December 1, 1943, confirmed that the territories Japan had taken from China shall be restored to China,” and outlined the Allied view of China as the key to the post-war order. The country’s path to the United Nations (UN) was built through wartime coalitions.

On January 1, 1942, 26 countries, including China, signed the Declaration by the UN, a military alliance that foreshadowed the organization’s name and structure. By April–June 1945, 50 countries had gathered in San Francisco, the U.S., to draft and sign the UN Charter; after ratification, the UN Charter came into effect on October 24, 1945.

China became one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC), reflecting its recognized status as a great power despite its devastated economy and ongoing civil conflict.

As the landscape of global recognition changed with decolonization, UN membership increased from 51 in 1945 to over 100 by the early 1970s. Momentum grew to grant the People’s Republic of China (PRC), established in 1949, a seat in the UN.

The decisive turning point came on October 25, 1971, when the UN General Assembly (with 1,976 members in session) adopted Resolution 2758 by a vote of 76-35 with 17 abstentions. The resolution recognized the PRC as “the sole legitimate representative of China to the United Nations.”

Measuring the arc from “ruins to permanent membership” reveals three key factors. First, wartime casualties and strategic impact played a significant role: 14 to 20 million lives lost, up to 100 million displaced and a sustainable front that halted Japanese expansion for 14 years.

Second, measurable Allied investments and logistics were decisive: $1.6 billion in Lend-Lease aid to China; the shipment of over 0.65–0.69 million tons of supplies via the Hump Pass; and the resumption of overland communication along the Ledo/Burma Road at the end of the war.

Third, formal diplomatic milestones have clear numerical evidence: The 26 signatures of the 1942 Declaration by the UN; the drafting of the Charter in San Francisco by the original 51 members in April-June 1945 (after Poland’s annexation); and the 76–35–17 vote in 1971 that transferred the Chinese delegation from the Republic of China to the PRC.

These statistics are more than just numbers; they’re a tribute to China’s resilience, sacrifice and determination to defend its sovereignty and dignity. No other Asian nation shouldered such a massive burden in the fight against fascism, and few nations emerged from such devastation with a stronger claim to global leadership. China’s place in the UNSC wasn’t a gift or a concession; it was earned on the battlefields, paid for in blood and secured through tireless diplomacy.

From the ashes of war to the UN, China rose to speak for itself and the millions across Asia who longed for liberation and peace. The permanent seat on the Security Council symbolizes more than just great-power status: It’s a lasting recognition of China’s contribution to victory in the World Anti-fascist War and its enduring responsibility in shaping world peace.

Today, as back then, China’s voice in the UNSC reminds us that a nation once written off as weak and divided proved strong enough to help decide the world’s fate and claim its rightful place in history.

The author is former prime minister of Kyrgyzstan, a distinguished professor of the Belt and Road School at Beijing Normal University and author of the book Central Asia’s Economic Rebirth in the Shadow of the New Great Game 

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon 

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