BEIJING - The Communist Party of China (CPC) played an essential role in the Anti-Japanese War, while the Kuomintang (KMT) Party "played an important role", said a Chinese scholar on Tuesday.

The CPC-KMT united front exerted an "extremely important" role in the victory of the War of the Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945), said Li Zhongjie, former deputy director of the Party history research office under the CPC Central Committee.

KMT's important role was shown in its organization of the frontline battlefield, its launching of and participation in more than 20 key battles and organization of the expeditionary forces in the battlefield of Yunan, southwest China, and Myanmar, Li said.

The KMT not only played a role in the domestic Anti-Japanese War, but offered important support for the British army and contributed to the world anti-fascist war, he added.