WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) — More than 80 years after Chinese and American forces stood facet by facet in opposition to Japanese aggression in World War II, that legacy of shared battle got here to the fore in Washington on Thursday as the 2 international locations’ leaders honored the bond cast in warfare.
As U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday morning, the shadow of the wartime historical past gave method to shared reminiscence — with Xi recalling how the 2 peoples as soon as stood shoulder to shoulder in opposition to fascist aggression.
Invoking a shared historic legacy, Xi mirrored on the deep ties cast throughout wartime.
“During the Second World War, Chinese and Americans fought shoulder to shoulder against fascist aggression. Chinese people have never forgotten that part of history, nor have the American people,” Xi stated.
Trump introduced again the shared wartime reminiscence by recalling the historical past of the U.S. and China combating alongside one another as allies throughout World War II. “Throughout history, the pursuit of those common interests has connected our people across vast oceans, those big, tremendous distances and many differences, and even made us allies in World War II,” he stated.
Trump praised the Flying Tigers, formally often called the American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force, for these American pilots’ bravery throughout their joint fight with Chinese troopers and civilians in opposition to the Japanese invasion.
Trump famous that “it was the United States Marines’ encounter with Chinese people that inspired the Marines to adopt a Chinese phrase they still use today, ‘gung ho.'”
“The Marines use it as an expression of great enthusiasm, but in Chinese, it literally means working together,” Trump stated.
The time period “gung ho” originated from the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives motion, also called the “Gung Ho” motion, launched within the late Thirties to assist China’s warfare effort.
“Just as our people worked together to win that war, President Xi and I will continue working together to forge a better future for both of our nations,” he added.
At a state dinner hosted by Trump on Thursday night, Xi took a second to recount the story of the Hump Route.
“Over 80 years ago, the Chinese and American people stood shoulder to shoulder in the fight against Japanese militarist aggressors. Together we opened the famous Hump air route over the Himalayas. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chinese soldiers and civilians rescued hundreds of American pilots at the cost of hundreds of thousands of Chinese lives,” Xi stated.
The Flying Tigers helped open and safeguard the Hump Route, a significant air hall over the Himalayas that grew to become a wartime lifeline for China. From 1942 to 1945, the route served as a key channel for Allied provides to assist China’s resistance in opposition to Japanese aggression.
This give attention to wartime alliance got here proper on the heels of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s assembly with Trump on the United Nations General Assembly in New York two days earlier.