“The victory of 1945 reminds us that peace is not the absence of war, but the presence of justice, sovereignty and solidarity. For Zimbabwe and China alike, to remember is not only to honor the past but to carry its torch forward.”
by Dereck Goto
Eighty years in the past, the Chinese folks stood battered however unbroken after a 14-year wrestle towards brutal aggression. During the War of Resistance towards Japanese Aggression, China suffered over 35 million casualties and noticed its cities and villages devastated. Yet from these ashes emerged not solely a navy victory, however an ethical triumph. It was China’s declaration that sovereignty could possibly be reclaimed and {that a} united folks might defeat an enemy that appeared indomitable.
For Zimbabwe, this anniversary isn’t a distant web page in one other nation’s story — it’s a mirror. China’s path resonates with our personal odyssey from colonial subjugation to independence, from marginalisation to self-assertion.
It is due to this fact becoming that President Emmerson Mnangagwa stood in Beijing on Sept. 3 alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping, commemorating the victory that reshaped Asia and, by extension, the world. His presence testifies to a friendship cast not merely in diplomacy however by means of shared philosophies of resistance, resilience and reconstruction.
This yr’s commemoration was no unusual gathering. On this grand event, President Mnangagwa was one in all solely two African leaders invited.
The visitor listing itself conveyed a definite geopolitical significance: a convergence of countries united by shared histories of striving for nationwide sovereignty — usually portrayed otherwise in Western narratives — but collectively devoted to shaping a worldwide order extra simply, equitable and aware of the wants and aspirations of the vast majority of international locations within the worldwide neighborhood.
What made China’s victory so consequential was not simply the endurance of its folks, but additionally the strategic ripple results that modified the course of World War II. More than two-thirds of Japan’s floor forces had been tied down in China for years, struggling tons of of hundreds of casualties on Chinese soil. In fact, with out Chinese resistance, the Allied victory in Europe would have been far much less sure.
Connections to Africa through the struggle had been actual. In 1942, Chinese troops in Myanmar carried out the daring rescue at Yenangyaung, releasing hundreds of encircled Allied troopers. Among accounts from that interval are reminiscences of Africans serving in British colonial formations who encountered Chinese troops.
One such story, handed down in veterans’ circles, tells of a Rhodesian soldier — Sergeant James Moyo — who wrote that Chinese troops who saved him and his comrades had been “brothers in the fight for freedom.” The story captures the essence of solidarity: strangers recognizing in one another a shared future of resistance. That spirit prefigured the later bonds between China and Africa in liberation struggles.
President Mnangagwa has rightly noticed that “our friendship with China is written in the blood of shared struggle, and in the sweat of shared reconstruction.” This explains why, when Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980, China was among the many first to acknowledge and assist us. From supporting liberation fighters to offering scholarships and technical experience that constructed our early infrastructure, China’s ethic of solidarity proved enduring. Over the many years, the China-Zimbabwe relationship has matured into partnerships spanning power, agriculture, telecommunications and well being.
The Kariba South hydropower station enlargement, the Hwange Thermal Power Station Unit 7 and Unit 8 undertaking, the brand new Parliament Building in Mount Hampden, and Zimbabwe’s 5G rollout by means of Huawei all carry Chinese fingerprints. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when vaccine nationalism uncovered the fragility of world solidarity, it was Chinese vaccines that reached our shores in time. These acts will not be transactional; they circulate from a philosophy cast in wrestle — that safety and prosperity have to be collective, not particular person.
There can also be a symbolic element that enriches this yr’s commemoration. Japan signed its instrument of give up on Sept. 2, 1945, but China observes Sept. 3 as its Victory Day. Why? Because China introduced the victory the next day, and three days of celebration started on Sept. 3, a date later formalized by the People’s Republic of China in 2014.
The symbolism is profound: peace isn’t a signature on parchment, however a dawn witnessed by the dwelling. Zimbabwe additionally is aware of that freedom isn’t proclaimed as soon as however lived every day — within the soil, within the economic system, and within the dignity of sovereignty.
The classes of this historical past stay pressing. In an period the place the world once more teeters between cooperation and confrontation, the legacy of 1945 reminds us that the destiny of countries is intertwined. “War is like a mirror. Looking at it helps us better appreciate the value of peace,” President Xi has noticed. Tanzania’s founding President Julius Nyerere as soon as warned that “without unity, there is no future for Africa.” Both statements converge on the identical fact: safety can’t be sustained by dominance, coercion or exclusion. It should relaxation on dialogue, justice and mutual respect.
And but, Zimbabwe and China right this moment face acquainted ways. Zimbabwe endures Western sanctions designed to weaponize finance towards our sovereignty. China confronts overseas containment — commerce wars, know-how bans and navy encirclement — meant to stall its rise. These will not be new; they’re fashionable types of the identical historic efforts to disclaim impartial nations their rightful place on the earth.
The late former Zimbabwean President Robert Gabriel Mugabe as soon as reminded the world that “our friendship with China was not born out of convenience, but out of principle.” Those ideas — sovereignty, dignity and self-determination — stay beneath stress within the twenty first century.
As Zimbabwe appears to its Vision 2030, the Chinese expertise provides inspiration. It proves that nationwide rejuvenation is feasible even after devastation, however solely with unity, strategic persistence and disciplined self-reliance. China rebuilt not by means of dependency on exterior powers, however by means of self-driven transformation. For Zimbabwe, nonetheless navigating sanctions, financial headwinds and world volatility, the lesson is obvious — adversity might be gas for renewal.
When President Mnangagwa stood in Beijing on Sept. 3, 2025, he didn’t merely mark a overseas anniversary. He was honoring a shared inheritance of wrestle and a shared duty for the long run. The Great Wall of China and the Great Zimbabwe, although hundreds of kilometers aside, carry the identical message: civilizations endure. They could also be examined, however they don’t vanish. They adapt, rebuild and rise once more.
History isn’t a museum piece. It is a compass. The victory of 1945 reminds us that peace isn’t the absence of struggle, however the presence of justice, sovereignty and solidarity. For Zimbabwe and China alike, to recollect isn’t solely to honor the previous however to hold its torch ahead.
The world nonetheless waits for a brand new daybreak, and it falls to us — the inheritors of sacrifice — to make sure that daybreak shines with dignity, equality and shared prosperity.
Editor’s word: Dereck Goto is a Harare-based political commentator.
The views expressed on this article are these of the creator and don’t essentially mirror the positions of Xinhua News Agency.