2015年CRI V-Day Parade Casts Influence Worldwide（在线收听）

Rolando Lopez Almo worked as Cuba's ambassador to China some 30-years ago.

He says the Cuban people are well-aware of the contributions made by the Chinese people during the war.

"The Chinese people did quite well according to their possibilities. And it should be remembered that the main suffering in Asia was done to the Chinese people, and the resistance of the Chinese people, they are resilient, their will to defeat foreign aggression, must always be remembered."

Mikhail Delyagin, a Russian scholar who has been studying China since the 1990s, says the role of Chinese troops was invaluable.

"At that time, the Chinese army held back most of the Japanese forces. China was a main battlefield, and Chinese forces fought the war aggressively. The Chinese soldiers fought persistently not only on domestic territory, but also in certain territories in Southeast Asia. Without China, the War against Axis forces would never have succeeded."

The parade this Thursday to mark the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People's War Against Japanese Aggression is a first-of-its-kind in China.

An estimated 35-million Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed in Japan's occupation of China.

Svetlana Zhurova, deputy chief of the Russian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, says the parade is a reminder of history.

"We have the responsibility to remember history, so that the wrong side of history will not be repeated, especially when there are some people trying to do that. The complicated international situation leads to misunderstanding and conflicts. Both Russia and China are among the most influential powers in the world. It is imperative that by the military parade, we remind people of history and past sacrifice, which are undeniable facts."

Some 30 heads of state will attend the commemorations, including the parade in Tian'anmen Square.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye will be among those on the rostrum at Tian'anmen.

Srikanth Kondapalli, an Indian professor of Chinese Studies, says the parade holds a dual-purpose.

"This parade is going to be keenly watched in the international community, partly because there are these revivals of these memories, Number One. Number two, this also indicates the influence of China in the international system"

At the same time, Sino-Indian researcher Jagannath Panda says the rest of the world shouldn't view the parade as a threat.

"Behind this big event, China wants to pass a message that China is a big power today, that the military has already been a powerful military today, the army has become a strong army today. But it's not for all those negative reasons. The PLA wants to participate in the peace-loving, peacemaking efforts. And that is the positive signal it wants to give the world using the 70th commemoration parade."

Commemoration activities are scheduled to start at 10am tomorrow.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to deliver a speech before the military parade begins.

For CRI, I'm Qi Zhi.