General Hsu Yung-chang represented China when he signed Japan’s surrender in 1945.
Hsu, also rendered Xu Yongchang, signed the Instrument of Surrender as China’s representative during the ceremony aboard USS Missouri. He followed Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who signed for the United States, and was the first national representative after the senior Allied signatures.
China had been fighting Japan since the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, years before the wider world war began in Europe. Chinese forces and civilians had endured a prolonged conflict against Imperial Japan, making China’s place among the signatories especially significant.
Other national representatives signed for the United Kingdom, Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. These signatures represented the Allied governments participating in the formal surrender.