CGTN: What to choose between war and peace? China's V-Day message to the world is loud and clear
BEIJING, Sept. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- China held a commemoration on September 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. On this occasion, CGTN published an article highlighting China's commitment to peaceful development in a world still fraught with turbulence and uncertainties.
Chinese troops with United Nations peacekeeping experiences made their first appearance in a V-Day parade at Tian'anmen Square in the heart of Beijing on Wednesday.
Their appearance at the parade marking the 80th anniversary of China's victory in World War II is a demonstration of Beijing's commitment to fulfilling international obligations and safeguarding world peace.
Under the Peacekeeping Force Formation, they were among the troops reviewed by Chinese President Xi Jinping along the Chang'an Avenue, or the Avenue of Eternal Peace.
"Today, humanity again has to choose between peace and war, dialogue and confrontation, win-win cooperation and zero-sum game," said Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, in a speech.
The Chinese people will stand firmly on the right side of history and on the side of human progress, Xi pledged.
"We will remain committed to the path of peaceful development, and join hands with the rest of world to build a community with a shared future for humanity," he said.
Peace prevails
Among the permanent UN Security Council members, China is the largest troop and second-largest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping missions.
Over the past 35 years since China joined the UN peacekeeping operations, the Chinese military has deployed more than 50,000 peacekeepers to over 20 countries and regions, including South Sudan and Lebanon, in undertaking 26 missions.
In 2024, in particular, China's share of the total assessed contributions was 18.69 percent, more than the combined contributions of the United Kingdom, France and Russia, three other permanent UN Security Council members.
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, under-secretary-general for UN Peace Operations, spoke highly of China's contributions.
China has played a "significant, constructive and helpful" role in supporting UN peacekeeping operations, Lacroix said in an interview with CGTN in May, ahead of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
China also has the best record among major powers when it comes to peace and security. Since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, it has never provoked a war, never occupied an inch of another country's territory and never waged a proxy war.
It is the only major country in the world to have enshrined the path of peaceful development in its Constitution, and the only nuclear-armed country to commit to no first use of nuclear weapons.
At Wednesday's parade, Chinese servicemen and women chanted with one voice: "Justice will prevail! Peace will prevail! The people will prevail!"
This message was highlighted again when three helicopters with banners of the same words flew over the grand gathering marking the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.
As the main Eastern theater of World War II, China's war of resistance provided crucial strategic support to Allied operations, coordinating with operations in Europe and elsewhere in Asia and contributing to the victory.
More than 20 foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, also attended the commemoration.
In his speech, Xi called on nations across the world to eliminate the root cause of war and prevent historical tragedies from recurring.
Common security can only be safeguarded when nations across the world treat each other as equals, live in harmony, and mutually support one another, Xi said.
"History cautions us that humanity rises and falls together," he said.
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