The allied victory over Fascism in World War Two has left behind a shared memory and enduring spirit.
At a symposium ahead of Victory Day on September 3, Chinese officials highlighted the joint struggle on the main eastern battlefield, a fight that secured hard-won peace.
"Eighty years ago, people from all over the world closely united under the banner of anti-fascism, transcending national boundaries, racial and ideological differences, sharing a common hatred and fighting bravely," said Wang Gang, vice minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee. "They achieved a great victory in the anti-fascist war, ushered in a new international order after the war, and demonstrated the iron law that justice will surely prevail over evil and light will eventually dispel darkness."
It was this shared spirit, forged between the Chinese people and foreign friends who came to aid and document a war-torn country, that helped make victory possible.
Among them was Eric Foster, nephew of renowned Western journalists Helen Foster Snow and Edgar Snow, who, like many others, felt a deep calling to come to China.
Eric Foster, nephew of renowned Western journalists Helen Foster Snow and Edgar Snow, delivers a speech in Beijing, August 30, 2025. /CGTN
"I always wanted to come to China since I was a little boy, because my mother would always tell me stories about my famous aunt and uncle and how they were good friends with Mao Zedong," Eric Foster told CGTN. "So I finally came back in 2010. And because I just felt I needed to come, because I felt this was my destiny."
In his 1937 book "Red Star Over China," Edgar Snow offered a vivid and compelling portrayal of the once "mysterious" Communist Party of China, showing how it led the revolution and brought dignity and equality to the people.
Edgar Snow's groundbreaking work left a lasting impact on global perceptions of China at the time.
Michael Crook, son of British communist David Crook, said "Red Star Over China" was the reason his father came to China. "When he read that book, he was so moved that he decided: I want to go to China."
Michael Crook, son of David Crook (a British friend of China), and Chairman of the International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives (ICCIC), delivers a speech in Beijing, August 30, 2025. /CGTN
The Crook family has built a deep and lasting bond with China.
David Crook met his Canadian wife, Isabel Crook, in China. In the late 1940s, the couple traveled to CPC-led liberated areas, conducting research on land reform in rural villages and producing two influential sociological works.
"Now, if some people or some countries, governments are trying to deny that, the people of other countries should know that fighting fascism is a good thing for all the world's people," said Michael Crook.
Saturday's seminar also launched new initiatives, including academic, archival, and media programs, aimed at carrying forward the spirit embodied by Edgar Snow.
Launch of the Edgar Snow International Scholars Program, the "International Friends Studies" Database, and the Global Media Program on "Edgar Snow in the New Era" in Beijing, August 30, 2025. /CGTN
"We hope that not only can we relive the tremendous contributions made by these international friends to China during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, but more importantly, we can enable more young people to become people who know and love China, and tell the stories of China and the world in the new era," Sun Hua, director of the China Center for Edgar Snow Studies at Peking University, told CGTN.
Eric Foster shared his thoughts on commemorating the shared history. "It's very important to have these types of events, to remember history and to see what happened then, and to try to help educate more people about this important history so we don't have this happen again in the future," he said.
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