American and Chinese soldiers take a rest on one of the aircraft that flew the Hump.[Photo/China Today]

On May 28, 2015, the launching ceremony of the book Shared Memories of the US and China – The Pacific War against Japanese Aggression, and the accompanying photo exhibition took place at the Book Exposition of America (BEA).

Zhang Qiyue, consul general of China in New York, said in her speech that this event gave both Chinese and American readers the chance to appreciate on the occasion of this 70th anniversary of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the victory of the world anti-Fascist war their full impact and resonance.

Senior Consultant of Citibank, IMG Senior Partner, Chairman of the Kuhn Foundation, and well known writer Dr. Robert Lawrence Kuhn was also present. He spoke of the book’s significance in marking the 70th anniversary of these conflicts and as a retrospect of this period of history.

The book was jointly published by domestic and overseas entities – China International Publishing Group, CASS Institute of Modern History, Academy of History of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Museum of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the National Archives and Records Administration of the U.S. The book includes a selection of rare historical photos, most of which are the sole recorded images of major events during WWII, and of written materials.

The victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression stands out as a historical turning point in the Chinese nation’s rejuvenation. It at the same time made great contributions to the victory of the world anti-Fascist war and progress of human civilization. This honorable history of joint combat between China and the U.S. during WWII preserves forever the memory of those who fought for world peace.

The book comprises three chapters: War of Justice – the China-U.S. Joint Effort Against Japanese Aggression; Mainstay – the CPC’s Participation in the War Against the Japanese; and Towards Peace – Profound Respect Between Servicemen and Civilians. A cache of rare black and white photos, documentation of a series of historical events, and a list of familiar names – from the September 18 Incident to the Cairo Conference, from the Flying Tigers to the Hump Route, from Edgar Snow to Norman Bethune, from the Chinese Expeditionary Force to the U.S. Military Observation Group – all vividly recreate for the reader this war-torn era.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese air force bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, so triggering the Pacific War. China, meanwhile, had been independently fighting against the invasion of Japanese fascists for the previous decade.