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Xi Jinping has capped a week of frenetic diplomacy by presiding over one of China’s biggest military parades and staging a show of solidarity with fellow strongmen Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.
A procession of China’s newest tanks, drones and missiles rolled past Tiananmen Square on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the second world war victory over Japan. It was the first time the Chinese, Russian and North Korean leaders have gathered in the same place.
The People’s Liberation Army showed off its latest weapons, including hypersonic missiles, with Xi hailing troops as a “heroic force” that should develop into a “world-class military” — implying a full equal to the US’s armed forces.
He said the PLA would “resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity” — code for Beijing’s goal of gaining control over Taiwan.
“The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is unstoppable,” Xi added.
The spectacle of Xi, Putin and Kim alongside more than 20 other national leaders reviewing the march by the world’s largest military in terms of personnel numbers was designed to impress China’s 1.4bn people, while warning off potential adversaries, including the US, Europe and Japan.
In his speech Xi cast China as a force for world peace and opposing hegemonism.
“Today, humanity is once again faced with critical choices: peace or war? Dialogue or confrontation? Win-win co-operation or zero-sum rivalry?” Xi said. “The Chinese people firmly stand on the right side of history and on the side of human civilisation and progress.”
Xi chatted amiably with Putin and Kim as he led the group of leaders to watch the parade from the Gate of Heavenly Peace, which is adorned with a giant portrait of Mao Zedong.
As the parade got under way, US President Donald Trump accused the trio of conspiring against the US, and called on China’s leader to remember America’s role during the war.
“Many Americans died in China’s quest for Victory and Glory. I hope that they are rightfully Honored and Remembered for their Bravery and Sacrifice!” he posted on his Truth Social network. “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America.”
After inspecting troops lined up on Beijing’s main east-west thoroughfare from an open limousine, Xi watched a parade of 45 formations, including newly formed units of the People’s Liberation Army and several weapons never seen in public before.
Three naval warfare units displayed the YJ-15, 17, 19 and 20, four different kinds of supersonic and hypersonic missiles which state television said can be launched from a range of platforms including surface ships and submarines.
Yu Jie, senior research fellow on China at Chatham House, said the parade was designed to show that China is “a great power rooted in the developing world”.
She said the absence of western leaders and prominence of Putin and Kim underlined that China was “seeking to send a very different but critical message”.
“Eight decades after the second world war ended, China no longer views itself as a mere participant in history but as the architect of a new world order — one it intends to design on its own terms. And it has the power to do it,” she said.
Kerry Brown, professor of Chinese studies at King’s College London, said the parade was “a great assertion of China’s prowess and advancement and strength so it’s great for domestic propaganda”.
But he said that, although the parade would alarm western nations, China’s military and much of its equipment had not been tested in combat.
“It’s all very performative,” Brown said. “They can definitely march, they can put on a great parade, but they’ve not fought for many decades. It’s a completely untested military.”
The parade followed Xi’s calls at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization regional security meeting in Tianjin, south-east of Beijing, this week for an alternative global order to replace the postwar US-led system.
At the SCO summit, Xi and Putin met India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an implicit rebuke to US President Donald Trump, who has imposed tariffs totalling 50 per cent on most imports from India.
Kim’s presence will elevate concerns among US allies about a new authoritarian axis, especially given that North Koreans are fighting alongside Russians against Ukraine.
The North Korean leader’s presence marked his first meeting with Xi since 2019, and the first time he has attended a multilateral gathering of leaders since he assumed power in 2011.
South Korea’s state-owned news agency Yonhap quoted lawmakers as saying they had been told by Seoul’s National Intelligence Service that Kim would “demonstrate trilateral solidarity by standing side by side” with Xi and Putin.
The NIS briefed the legislators that Kim’s visit was aimed at “expanding his room to manoeuvre by restoring North Korea-China relations, and securing China’s economic assistance to buoy his regime”, Yonhap reported.
