In September 2015, the People’s Republic of China held its first major military parade to mark victory in World War II.
On September 3, 2025, President Xi Jinping is scheduled once again to host world leaders in Beijing for the commemoration of Victory Day in what is formally known in China as the “Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.”
At first glance, Beijing’s messaging appears similar to 10 years ago. But a closer look indicates increased uncertainty about what lies ahead.
Anticipating Great Victory
In 2015, China appeared ready to realize its long-anticipated rise as a global superpower – a goal officially branded as “national rejuvenation.”
During a milestone meeting in June 2013, Xi and then-U.S. President Barack Obama agreed to establish a new model of great power relations, emphasizing pragmatic cooperation and the constructive management of differences.
Earlier that year in Moscow, Xi established the foundation for a personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and what would later be described as a “limitless” strategic partnership between their countries.
Closer to home, Xi conducted “landmark” and “ice-breaking” meetings with his Indian and Japanese counterparts in 2014. These coincided with a period of notable warmth in cross-strait relations, culminating in an unprecedented face-to-face summit between Xi and Taiwan’s president in November 2015.
These diplomatic successes, along with expectations of continued rapid economic growth, influenced Beijing’s evolving perspective on its position in the current global order as well as official accounts of the nation’s past.
This new optimism shaped China’s World War II remembrance early in Xi’s first term. Older victimhood narratives gave way for more empowering, triumphalist retellings of China’s great struggle for justice during the war. These revitalized narratives extended to overseas Chinese communities, including those across the Taiwan Strait.
This shift found striking expression in Nanjing, a city deeply linked to wartime trauma and suffering. In 2015, a sweeping new exhibition hall rose there, commemorating China’s “great victory” in World War II and its triumph over hostile foreign powers.
A visitor inside the Victory Exhibition Hall, Nanjing. July 2025. Photo by Vincent K. L. Chang.
Growing Resistance and Pushback
But then a turning point occurred. When the reforms and convergence with liberal values that many international observers had expected did not transpire, Beijing began to lose its goodwill in the West and parts of the region.
In the realm of security, the United States and its allies began to push back against Chinese maritime claims and island-building in the South China Sea and Beijing’s expanding regional and global military presence.
On the economic and technological front, resistance against ambitious initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative and Made in China 2025 culminated in a trade war and significant decoupling.
Politically, Western criticism centered on China’s perceived authoritarian turn, demonstrated by Beijing’s repressive policies in Hong Kong and Xinjiang and the extension of Xi’s leadership into a third term.
China’s actions and diplomacy during the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine contributed to heightened tensions.
These shifts in the geopolitical climate, combined with economic slowdown, have changed China’s outlook over the past decade. This has impacted how history is officially portrayed.
Endurance, Contribution, and Sacrifice
In July 2025, Beijing’s main World War II museum unveiled its new permanent exhibition, titled “For National Liberation and World Peace.” This update replaces the previous display, “Great Victory, Historical Contribution,” as part of a once-in-a-decade overhaul.
In historiographical terms, the central narrative remains unchanged. It still casts China’s war as a pivotal struggle for justice – one that began the earliest, lasted the longest, and exacted the highest toll in casualties of any World War II theater.
As in previous accounts, the narrative credits China’s triumph to the collective efforts and determination of its people, guided by the strategic and spiritual leadership of the Communist Party (CCP).
The narrative further underscores China’s contribution to the global Allied victory, highlighting how the Chinese people kept Japanese troops engaged for years (allowing the Allies to pursue their “Europe First” strategy), facilitated military operations in the region, and championed international collaboration.
Yet, alongside these familiar themes, three areas reveal subtle but significant shifts.
First, the exhibition places an even stronger spotlight on the CCP’s role in securing China’s victory. The party takes center stage in virtually each chapter of the display.
The exhibit concludes with a large Chinese-language panel that commends the CCP for its determination and bravery in upholding national independence, protecting the country’s interests, and opposing foreign intervention.
The final panel at Beijing’s World War II museum, emphasizing the CCP’s wartime steadfastness. Photo by Vincent K. L. Chang.
That claim conveys a clear message regarding the ongoing and future “struggle” for national rejuvenation, which Beijing expects will intensify.
Second, compared to 2015, there is an increased focus on the support and cooperation provided by the Soviet Union and the United States during the war.
The wartime friendship of the legendary American aviators known as the Flying Tigers is now featured at an increasing number of heritage sites nationwide.
U.S. Air Force commander Claire Lee Chennault and fellow American aviators are commemorated at the Nanjing Aviation Martyrs’ Cemetery. Photo by Vincent K. L. Chang.
This signals a continued desire for better U.S. relations.
It also reveals a broader aim: establishing a multipolar world order defined by spheres of influence, reminiscent of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt’s “Four Policemen” concept for global peace that guided the United Nations’ founding in 1945.
While other Allies and neighboring nations receive brief mention, there seems to be limited genuine interest in the shared wartime experiences of other countries across Asia that were occupied during World War II. The spotlight remains firmly on China’s own sacrifices and contributions.
This Chinese centrality is reflected in photo exhibitions and commemorative events organized by Chinese diplomatic missions across a growing network of partner countries – including neighboring Pakistan, as well as more distant Global South nations such as Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, South Africa, and Tanzania.
The third and arguably most significant recent change is the increased emphasis on self-sacrifice. This is now framed not as passive victimhood or national trauma, as it once was, but as a demonstration of collective determination and agency.
The final section of the exhibit features a large, softly lit hall dedicated to honoring the souls and exemplary spirit of the Chinese martyrs from World War II.
It embodies the broader strategic effort by the Chinese state to expand and modernize the pantheon of national heroes and cultivate a new generation of potential future martyrs – individuals it may one day call upon.
The shrine honoring wartime martyrs in the newly renovated World War II museum in Beijing, July 2025. Photo by Vincent K. L. Chang.
National Rejuvenation and World Peace
The recent changes in official Chinese war commemoration reflect the anticipations and anxieties of a rising superpower and its top leaders.
A decade ago, reflections on the future and narratives of the past confidentially foregrounded China’s great victory and significant contribution to the world.
But recent setbacks have taught Beijing that the next phase of national rejuvenation may demand more than confidence and pride – it may require endurance.
Today, the emphasis has shifted toward national emancipation and world peace, underscoring the sacrifices – past and future – that achieving these ideals may require.
Meanwhile, one guiding principle persists: the pursuit of peace grounded in a recalibrated balance of power.
The Chinese people are being actively encouraged to contribute and prepare for sacrifice toward realizing that vision of peace.