I have lived in China for four years and I can tell you that China has never been in true alliance with any country ever. No one in China will ever say they fought with the U.S. against the Axis powers (as a group). Their war was the “War Against Japanese Aggression” and it began in 1937. Japan’s bombing of the U.S. fleet of ships in Hawaii drew the U.S. into their war and was related to Japan’s need to keep the U.S. hobbled until Japan could encircle all of Southeast Asia including China. It might have worked if not for the atomic bombs. Virtually all Chinese people cheer the U.S. for dropping the atomic bombs as most Chinese hate the Japanese even today. Generally speaking, the Chinese have no interest in much of anything related to the war in Europe. They are an isolationist country and their enemies are only those who attack China.

The Axis

Originally founded on the concept of the Rome-Berlin-axis (the Pact of Steel), later the Tripartite Pact, the Axis was not primarily a formal alliance. Each of the major countries went to war on their own initiative (Nazi Germany in 1939, Italy in 1940, and Japan in 1937 against China and 1941 against USA), and not necessarily to assist each other. There was little sharing of technology or resources, and also little in the way of cooperative strategic planning between the major Axis Powers.

With the demise of Italy, Germany and Japan each functioned as wholly separate powers, each conducting the war in their theatre (Germany in Europe and Japan in the Pacific). There were a number of smaller powers on the side of the Axis, although for the most part the war effort was directed and powered by Germany and Japan.

There were Chinese resistance forces in action throughout the war. They assisted Jimmy Doolittle’s pilots after they landed in China following the raid on Tokyo.

Any history of World War II in Asia will tell you more.