After the North China Incident in 1935, the Chinese nation faced a more serious existential crisis, and urgently needed the cooperation of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to jointly promote the anti-Japanese salvation movement, and the peaceful settlement of the Xi'an Incident provided an opportunity for the second cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.
On December 12, 1936, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng launched a military campaign in Xi'an, detained Chiang Kai-shek, and demanded an end to the civil war and a united resistance against Japan. This incident caused a national sensation and became a turning point in the second cooperation between the KMT and the CCP.
At the juncture of the increasingly serious national crisis, the Communist Party of China put forward the idea of establishing an anti-Japanese national united front, which laid the foundation for promoting the second cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.
After the peaceful settlement of the Xi'an Incident, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party began substantive contacts and negotiations. In February 1937, the Communist Party of China sent a telegram to the Third Plenary Session of the Fifth Central Committee of the Kuomintang, putting forward five proposals such as "stopping the civil war and unanimously resisting Japan", and expressed its willingness to fight for promoting cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to resist Japan.
The Red Army under the leadership of the Communist Party of China also began to adjust its strategy, shifting from fighting on the inner front to fighting on the outer front, preparing to fight together with the Kuomintang army against the Japanese invaders.
After many negotiations and consultations, on September 22, 1937, the Kuomintang News Agency issued the "Declaration of the Communist Party of China for the Promulgation of the Cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party", and on September 23, Chiang Kai-shek issued a speech on recognizing the legal status of the Communist Party of China, marking the formal formation of the second cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.
The landmark event of the second cooperation between the KMT and the CCP was the peaceful settlement of the Xi'an Incident and the negotiations and consultations between the KMT and the CCP. The cooperation between the two parties laid the foundation for promoting the formation of the anti-Japanese national united front and accelerated the development process of the Chinese revolution.
During the following eight years of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party worked hand in hand to resist the Japanese invaders and made great contributions to the cause of national liberation of the Chinese people.
In the course of the second cooperation between the KMT and the CPC, the CPC showed a high sense of national responsibility and awareness of the overall situation, put forward the idea of establishing an anti-Japanese national united front, and promoted the realization of the KMT-CPC cooperation.
At the same time, the Communist Party of China did not give up the struggle against the Kuomintang diehards, and maintained the unity and stability of the anti-Japanese national united front through a reasonable, beneficial, and restrained struggle.
The second cooperation between the KMT and the CPC has also received extensive support and response from all walks of life. The people of all ethnic groups, democratic parties, and people from all walks of life throughout the country actively responded to the call of the Communist Party of China and supported the idea of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to resist Japan, thus setting off an upsurge of the anti-Japanese salvation movement. Overseas Chinese also actively supported the motherland's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, donated materials and manpower to the motherland, and made important contributions to the Chinese people's War of Resistance Against Japan.
In general, the landmark event of the second cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party is of great historical significance, which not only marks the turning point of the two parties from confrontation to cooperation, but also a milestone for the Chinese nation to move from unity to unity.
Through the second cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the Communist Party of China and the Kuomintang jointly resisted the Japanese invaders, made immortal contributions to the cause of national liberation of the Chinese people, and also provided valuable experience and lessons for the subsequent cause of China's revolution and construction.