Harici: "China held a diplomatic and military body show." (9/3/25.)
To celebrate the 80th anniversary of its victory over Japan in World War II, China displayed the country's newest and most advanced weapons by holding a large military parade on Changan Street in central Beijing.
President Xi Jinping gave a speech at the Tiananmen rostrum and then inspected the People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops from the crossover. This was the third great military parade in Tiananmen Square, which Xi oversaw as president. In his speech, Xi said that the world is once again facing “a choice between peace and war”.
World leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Malaysian Prime Minister Enver Ibrahim, have been in the stands, along with incumbent and former high-ranking officials and generals.
Cuban President Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkiyan, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, President of Uzbekistan Şevket Mirziyoyev, President of Kazakhstan Kasım Cömert Tokayev, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev were among the leaders who attended the ceremony. Turkey was represented by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
At the end of the parade, 80,000 peace doves and balloons were blown to Tiananmen Square.
XI: WE ARE FACING A CHOICE BETWEEN PEACE AND WAR
“Comrades and friends, the Chinese nation is a great nation that is not afraid of brute power and stands strong thanks to self-sufficiency,” Xi said in his opening speech. "Today, humanity again faces a choice between peace and war, dialogue and conflict, win-win cooperation or zero-sum competition," he added.
"The great revival of the Chinese nation is unstoppable and the noble struggle for the peace and development of humanity will surely prevail," Xi said, calling on the armed forces to "resert national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity with determination."
After his speech, Xi inspected the People's Liberation Army soldiers from the open ceiling of a black limousine. Then Xi stood by Putin and Kim and continued to watch the parade.
MILITARY SHOW
This was a demonstration of China's military power, where advanced military equipment such as unmanned aerial vehicles, hypersonic missiles and warplanes were displayed accompanied by choreography.
China introduced nuclear-warheaded missiles that can be launched simultaneously from land, sea and air, and demonstrated the "trio" of its nuclear preparedness capacity to the public for the first time. These include the air-based long-range missile Jinglei-1, Julang-3, submarine-based intercontinental missiles; and the Dongfeng-31 and Dongfeng-61, land-based intercontinental missiles.
China also introduced the hypersonic ship anti-atilar missiles Yingji-17, Yingji-19 and Yingji-20, which it tested against the prototypes of US aircraft carriers.
State media CCTV stated that these missiles, along with the DF-61 and DF-31, represent the PLA's "first intensive exhibition of the "land, sea and air trio of strategic nuclear forces"," and created a "strategic trump card to protect national sovereignty and defend national honor".
China has not held such a parade since 2019, which celebrates the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. It was noted that this year's event was held to honor Beijing's victory in the "Resistance War Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War".
Strict security measures have been taken in and around Tiananmen Square. While some metro and bus lines were suspended on Tuesday night, popular tourist attractions such as the Forbidden City and parks were temporarily closed. Some hospitals even limited their activities.
'CHINA IS READY TO PLAY A BIGGER ROLE'
Ghulam Ali, former deputy director of the Hong Kong Centre for Asian Studies, said: “For China, this event provided an opportunity to demonstrate its readiness to play its defense capacity and, especially in the escalation of U.S.-China tension and the conflict in Ukraine, shaping the global and regional order. He also added that he aimed to "unite the people around national security goals".
China also hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in nearby Tianjin on Sundays and Mondays. Xi met with foreign leaders such as Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at this summit.
At the SCO summit, Xi proposed a Global Governance Initiative that emphasizes its goal of reshaping the global order. Xi emphasized principles such as the rule of international law, multilateralism, equality and justice. He called on the leaders of the SCO countries to "stand against hegemony".
After the SCO summit, some leaders also remained in the military parade. Participants included many Southeast Asian leaders such as Min Aung Hlaing, head of Myanmar's military regime, Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith, and Malaysian Prime Minister Enver Ibrahim. Vietnam sent President Luong Cuong, while Cambodia sent King Norodom Sihamoni. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who seemed ready to cancel his trip to China due to protests in his country, decided to make a short visit.
“Such a strong participation has never been seen before, and it shows that China's diplomatic and economic influence in the region is increasing,” said the analyst Ghulam Ali.
Indian Prime Minister Modi, on the other hand, bypassed the parade after the SCO summit and returned to India.
The division between China and the West and its allies was also evident: While the United States did not send representatives, Serbian President Alexander Vucic and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico were the only participating heads of state from Europe. Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama from Japan attended and was among the guests who shook hands with Xi. South Korea sent Woo Won-shik, Speaker of the National Assembly.