CHINA' S STANDING IN WORLD WAR II

During seminars at the ICHS conference, around 2,600 historians from more than 90 countries and regions discussed the contribution and sacrifices of Chinese people during the world anti-Fascist war, and China' s role in maintaining world peace.

China was one of the five permanent seats of the UN when it was first established, Frank said.

"That means that even though China was invaded and occupied, other powers were aware that it plays a central role in international relations," Frank said. "It can be seen as a recognition of China's standing in the war."

"China was the first country invaded and that means the first movements of resistance against occupation were in China," Frank said, emphasizing China's role in the war.

Zhang Haipeng, president of the Association of Chinese Historians, believes the Japanese troops might have moved to southeast Asia, India or the Middle East and cooperated with German troops if Chinese soldiers had not engaged them on the domestic battlefield.

"If we wish to understand the role of China in today's global society, we would do well to remind ourselves of the tragic, titanic struggle that the country waged in the 1930s and 1940s, not just for its own national dignity and survival, but for the victory of all the Allies, west and east, against some of the darkest forces that history has ever produced," Mitter wrote in his book.