Beijing — China flexed its might and muscle on Wednesday at a military parade in Beijing showcasing its latest missiles, advanced weapons systems and drones. In his address, President Xi Jinping said his nation was “unstoppable.”
It was China‘s biggest military parade ever, meant to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and Japan’s formal surrender. But the massive “Victory Day” procession down Chang-an Avenue — the name of which means “Eternal Peace” — carried a much broader message. Standing next to Xi for the parade were Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
Security in the sprawling Chinese capital was extra tight. All buildings overlooking the parade route were locked down as the leaders and other dignitaries from 26 countries took in the spectacle, along with some 50,000 spectators.
It was a landmark moment for Xi, China’s 72-year-old leader. It was the third and most important military parade he has overseen since coming to power in 2012.
As commander-in-chief of the world’s largest standing armed forces, he watched smiling as tens of thousands of troops under his orders goose stepped in perfect unison toward Tiananmen Square in central Beijing with the sound of cannons ringing through the air.
It was a visceral display of China’s growing military might and newest hardware, including hypersonic weapons, nuclear capable missiles, a new laser weapon, fighter jets and underwater drones. But it also pointedly showed off Beijing’s growing clout as a geopolitical power, with deepening ties to some of the United States’ most potent adversaries.
The message from the stage, with Xi, Putin and Kim standing shoulder to shoulder, was undeniable: strength in solidarity, and a challenge to the U.S.-dominated world order that has prevailed for a century.
Together, they have been dubbed an “Axis of Upheaval” by some Western analysts, and Xi’s decision to bring together the leaders of some of the most heavily sanctioned nations in the world was clearly calculated. The parade was the first time that Kim had ever appeared together with both Xi and Putin — offering him a first multilateral diplomatic event.
Iran‘s President Masoud Pezeshkian and the leader of Myanmar’s ruling military junta, President Min Aung Hlaing, were also there, according to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Xi and Putin have made their ambition to shake up the global status quo clear for several years.
“We, together with you and with our sympathizers, will move towards a multipolar, just, democratic world order,” Russia’s longtime Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in 2022, ahead of a meeting with his Chinese counterpart.
The gathering in Beijing represented a clear challenge to President Trump’s claim to be fostering close working relationships with Xi, Putin and Kim.
Mr. Trump had a go at China on social media, saying American soldiers deserve credit for helping China defeat Japanese forces during WWII. He went on to accuse China, Russia and North Korea of conspiring against the U.S., which a Kremlin spokesperson dismissed as possible irony.
Xi’s bond with Putin was on clear and deliberate display in the days leading up to the parade, as well.
China and Russia have declared their “no limits partnership” and, while China claims to maintain a neutral stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine, Beijing’s support of the war effort — by providing dual-use technology and continuing to purchase Russian oil and gas in defiance of Western sanctions, has proven to be an economic lifeline funding Putin’s three-and-a-half-year war.
During talks at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Tuesday, Putin hailed “unprecedentedly high relations” with China and thanked his “dear friend” Xi for the warm welcome.
Kim’s support for Russia’s war has been even more direct. Since October last year, North Korea has sent around 13,000 troops, along with conventional weapons, to support Russia’s war effort. South Korea’s intelligence services estimate that around 2,000 North Korean troops have been killed fighting alongside Russian forces.
The parade was a show of both China and Russia’s implicit support for Kim’s nuclear weapons program, which remains the subject of numerous United Nations sanctions.
Xi burnished his credentials as a geopolitical powerbroker at a regional security summit in Tianjin, northern China, that ended on Monday. He hosted more than 20 world leaders there, including Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“We should uphold fairness and justice,” Xi declared at the gathering of the Shanghai Corporation Organization, seemingly trying to claim moral high ground amid the upheaval and strained relationships caused by Mr. Trump’s global trade war and isolationist policies. “We must oppose the Cold War mentality, block confrontation and bullying practices.”
Without mentioning the U.S. or its president by name, Xi told the assembled leaders of non-Western countries: “We must continue to take a clear stand against hegemonism and power politics.”
On Monday Xi, Putin and Modi were shown together smiling and laughing at the summit — a deliberate public display of warmth and camaraderie. Just last week, the U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on India for buying Russian oil.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a close ally of Mr. Trump, called the summit “performative” and accused China and India of being “bad actors” for fueling Russia’s war.
At the parade this week, Xi was not only asserting China as a reliable and stable partner, but also showing off his country’s burgeoning alliances, influence and military power — and the potential to back up his vision of a new world order. It was a message that many see as being aimed squarely, if not entirely, at China’s rival across the Pacific.