BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A think tank report released on Friday affirms the fact that the Chinese theater was the main battlefield in the East of the World Anti-Fascist War eight decades ago.

Titled "Remembering History and Defending Justice -- Great Contributions of the Main Battlefield in the East of the World Anti-Fascist War," the report was published in both Chinese and English by Xinhua Institute, a think tank affiliated with Xinhua News Agency.

The year 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

"China was the foremost target in Japan's expansionist agenda. Consequently, China suffered Japanese aggression earlier and more intensely than any other nation. The Chinese people's resistance was likewise the earliest and most resolute, initiating the World Anti-Fascist War and establishing the world's first large-scale anti-fascist battlefield," it says.

According to the report, the Chinese theater effectively pinned down and engaged the main forces of Japanese militarism, impeding both its "northern advance" toward the Soviet Union and its "southern advance" into the Pacific. This strategic containment disrupted coordination between Japanese and German fascist forces, playing a decisive role in the ultimate defeat of the Japanese invaders, the report says.

From the Lugou Bridge Incident in 1937 to Japan's surrender in 1945, Chinese forces annihilated more than 1.5 million Japanese troops, accounting for over 70 percent of Japan's total military casualties in World War II.

After the outbreak of the war in Europe and the Pacific War, more than 20 countries and regions across Europe, Asia and Africa fell to the fascist invasion.

"Not only did China thwart Japan's attempts to subjugate it, but it also provided crucial strategic support to the Allied war effort and coordinated with strategic actions in both the European and Pacific theaters," the report says.

China also served as a vital rear base for Allied operations against Japan in the Asia-Pacific region, supplying essential strategic materials and military intelligence to the Allies, directly supporting their operations and securing a critical buffer of time for Allied forces, the report adds.

Xinhua Institute, with policy research as its main focus, has in recent years carried out forward-looking, strategic and preparatory research concerning major domestic and global issues -- producing many influential research outcomes in the process. ■