Well, that's not really true. The first Sino-Japanese war was in 1894-'95 and sparks a lot in China's history, which I think is probably what he means. This weakens the last Chinese dynasty, and in 1911 the dynasty falls. A nationalist party called the Koumintang (or Goumintang depending on your romanisation - KMT) is formed, leading to relative stability, and in 1921 Mao Zedong, along with some others, forms the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Things are tense until 1926. However, in 1927, tensions rise further between the CCP and the KMT, leading to about a decade of civil war between the KMT and the CCP. The fighting stops in 1937 with the start of the second Sino-Japanese war; the CCP and the KMT team up to fight the Japanese with US help in WWII.

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Here's a timeline so that we can look at the years better:

1894: First Sino-Japanese war starts

1895: First Sino-Japanese war ends; China gives Korea and Taiwan to Japan

1911: Qing dynasty falls; KMT forms provisional government

1912: The Republic of China is established

1921: CCP is founded

1927: Chinese civil war starts

1931: Japan invades Manchuria

1937: KMT and CCP form an alliance to fight Japan; start of the second Sino-Japanese war

1945: End of the second Sino-Japanese war; Chinese civil war resumes

1949: End of the Chinese civil war

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I've heard claims that some consider the Japanese invasion of Manchuria the actual start of the second Sino-Japanese war but I'm not too sure on this claim myself. However, even if we grant that Manchuria is really the start of the second war, the timeline has too many gaps for us to consider it one long war in the East. China wasn't even a combatant in WWI (though Japan technically was).

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Sources:

Pantsov, Alexander V. and Levine, Steven I. Mao: The Real Story. New York City: Simon & Schuster, 2012.

Schram, Stuart. Mao Tse-Tung. London: Simon & Schuster, 1966.

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EDIT: grammar