BEIJING, Sept 3: Chinese President Xi Jinping staged the country’s biggest military parade on Tuesday, warning that humanity faced a stark choice between “peace or war,” Reuters reported
The event in Tiananmen Square, organized to commemorate 80 years since Japan’s defeat in World War Two, placed Xi alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. According to Reuters correspondents at the scene, Western leaders largely stayed away, leaving Putin and Kim—both heavily sanctioned and shunned by Washington and Europe—as the main guests of honour.
Reuters said the spectacle was intended to showcase China’s military strength and diplomatic reach at a time when Beijing’s relations with the United States and its allies remain strained by former President Donald Trump’s tariff battles and unpredictable diplomacy. Xi, dressed in a Mao-style suit, told more than 50,000 spectators that “mankind is faced with the choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, win-win or zero-sum.” He insisted that China stands “on the right side of history.”
NYC to hold first Asian American and Pacific Islander parade
The agency noted that Xi welcomed over 20 foreign leaders in English, including Indonesia’s president, who appeared despite unrest at home. Meanwhile, Trump dismissed the display as non-threatening, posting on his Truth Social account a mocking message aimed at Putin and Kim, Reuters relayed.
Military experts cited by Reuters described a 70-minute showcase of air power, marching battalions, hypersonic missiles, drones, and modernized tanks. Beijing shut schools and sealed major roads, while Reuters said weeks of midnight rehearsals and tight security underscored the scale of preparation.
The parade also highlighted Xi’s long-term narrative of national “rejuvenation.” As Reuters explained, Xi often links World War Two to China’s rise from invasion and humiliation to its present economic and military clout. Days earlier, he had unveiled a vision for a new global order at a regional security summit, calling for unity against “hegemonism and power politics,” widely interpreted as a rebuke of Washington.
Reuters pointed out that Putin used his trip to deepen energy cooperation with Beijing, while Kim sought tacit backing for his nuclear weapons program. For Kim, the occasion marked his first appearance at a Chinese military parade in more than six decades, with his daughter Ju Ae also stepping onto the international stage.
According to Reuters, nothing was left to chance: local authorities mobilized thousands of volunteers and Communist Party cadres to guard against unrest. Analysts quoted by the agency said Xi used the spectacle to underline that China’s armed forces remain firmly in his corner.
