Beijing
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Xi Jinping performed an incredible show of Chinese military power on Wednesday before the world’s most powerful authoritarian leaders, bringing them together behind his vision for a new world order, in which US President Donald Trump will wage a world trade war and shake up the American alliance.
From the gates of peace in Beijing’s heaven, Xi main sided a 70-minute parade to mark the end of World War II. It has been the bloodiest conflict in Europe since 1945, with Asian leaders pouring his troops and weapons in it.
For many in the West, the crucial image of the view is not a stealth fighter jet, a nuclear-capable missile, or a parade of troops marching in perfect synchronisation, but a line of Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong, a show of solidarity with the United States and its alliance.
They formed the rebellious faces of growing, fierce leaders who oppose Western rules and decided to balance global power in their favor.
“The Chinese nation is a great country that is not threatened by bullies,” Xi Qing, China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, told more than 50,000 spectators, attracting 26 countries in the heart of Beijing, a force of thousands and an audience of over 50,000 people.
At various moments throughout the parade, XI, Putin and Kim had never appeared publicly before – leaning against each other, sharing smiles, and even heard chatter about immortality and longevity on their way to Tiananmen Rostrum.
The deliberate display of unity is a sharp responsibilities for Trump’s enthusiastic attempts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, and an open challenge to America’s declining global leadership under the US president.
That message appears to have been received by Trump, who wrote about the true society while the parade was underway.
At a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, Putin replied that “the US president has no sense of humor,” adding that none of the world leaders who attended the Chinese summit “has expressed negative judgment about the current US administration.”
China’s epic show was designed to bring together national pride and showcase Xi’s close grip on military forces, even as his ongoing corruption rocked the top ranks of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and raised questions about combat readiness for forces that have not fought massive wars in nearly half a century.
Xi was riding in an open-top black limousine to inspect the troops and weapons lined up along the path of eternal peace. “Comrade, you worked so hard!” Xi said from his black “red flag” limousine. “I will serve the people!” the soldiers cried out in perfect unison, watching in honor of their leader as he slid.
On Chinese social media, users praised the PLA’s impressive hardware and discipline, comparing it to Trump’s military parade held in Washington in June.
“Chinese military parade: a showcase of state power. US military parade: a showcase of relaxation,” he wrote in Wybo.
Brian Hart, a fellow at the China Electric Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Beijing’s goal is to show domestic viewers and foreign watchers that its military is increasingly progressive and deadly despite challenges like corruption.
“Xi Jinping has made military modernization one of his top priorities and he has been relentlessly pushing forward to improve his army. This parade is an opportunity to showcase the progress of PLA under his leadership,” he said.
The parade concluded diplomacy and pageantry days in the nearby port city of Tianjin. Xi used regional summits to cast China as an alternative global leader in Washington using thinly veiled swipes.
At the end of a gathering of leaders from across Asia and the Middle East, XI developed a new vision of how international issues should be governed, just as Trump’s “America First” policy has overturned the world.
With a massive display of power on Wednesday, Xi offered the stage to show guests that China has not only ambitions to support his vision, but also military power.
“The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation cannot be stopped,” Xi said, repeatedly calling for the construction of a “world-class” army.
From postponed missiles, nuclear-available weapons to laser air defense systems, the array of sophisticated weapons on display, many of which were first made public, but we have rarely seen the rapid advances in China’s military technology under the XI.
Xi has taken power for over a decade, leading an ambitious modernization drive, turning the PLA into a “world-class” combat power that can rival and ultimately outperform the US military.
Xi has moved the PLA from a Soviet-style, army-oriented command structure to a more closely modeled joint operation system for the US military. He has created or elevated branches to manage China’s nuclear weapons and address new territory of war, including rocket power, which became the focus of Xi’s corruption purge in 2023.
Meanwhile, China has poured billions of dollars into developing weapons, many of which were first featured in Wednesday’s parade. We are also using industrial bases to accelerate the production of military hardware.
The day of the event in Beijing also included a banquet for world leaders, concluded with a musical gala entitled “Justice Wins.”
Optics aside, analysts say there are limits to the grand display of power and unity in Tiananmen Square.
Unlike the United States, China does not have formal military alliances with any country except North Korea, and regularly accuses NATO of sacrificing others of seeking security and causing chaos around the world.
In addition to Putin and Kim, XI guests also include Iranian President Masuud Pezeshkian, who was marked for the first time when four men appeared together at one event.
Like North Korea, Iran sent mountains to Russia to support the war with Ukraine, from drones and shells to short-range missiles, according to American and European officials.
In the wake of the Putin war in Ukraine, Washington strategists have warned about a new anti-American “turbulent axis” between China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. However, experts say their partnership is primarily bilateral and there are few indications of four-way adjustments.
Jonathan Ching, a Brookings analyst and former CIA China expert, said the co-attendants of the four leaders to the parade were “evacuated” and allowed them to present “front of the partnership.”
“But it is probably not a precursor to deeper quadrilateral cooperation between them, but a symbolic high water mark of their partnership, and don’t worry about some alternative turn to a new world order,” he said. “North Korea and Iran are far more minor players here with little or no leverage.”
The restrictions were highlighted this summer when the US launched airstrikes in Iran. China and Russia provided little support apart from verbal condemnation of the attack.
“In fact, it’s very much conveying that the Iranian president is making this trip after this moment, as many commentators have expressed their opinion that China’s credibility will be hit when it has done little to help Iran in the moment.
