China tries to project power in military parade

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned the world was facing a choice between peace or war at a massive military parade in Beijing on Wednesday, flanked by Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in an unprecedented show of force.

The event to mark 80 years since Japan’s defeat at the end of World War Two was largely shunned by Western leaders, with Putin and Kim – pariahs in the West due to the Ukraine war and Kim’s nuclear ambitions – the guests of honor.

Designed to project China’s military might and diplomatic clout, it also comes as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and volatile policymaking strain its relations with allies and rivals alike.

“Today, mankind is faced with the choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, win-win or zero-sum,” Xi told a crowd of more than 50,000 spectators at Tiananmen Square, adding that the Chinese people “firmly stand on the right side of history”.

Donning a tunic suit in the style worn by former leader Mao Zedong, Xi earlier greeted more than 25 leaders on the red carpet, including Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto who made a surprise appearance despite widespread protests at home.

Seated between Putin and Kim in the viewing gallery, Xi repeatedly engaged in conversations with both leaders as thousands of troops and materiel passed before them. It marked the first time the trio have appeared together in public.

Putin later thanked Kim for his soldiers’ courageous fighting in the war in Ukraine during a bilateral meeting at China’s State Guesthouse. The North Korean leader said he was willing to do everything he can to help Russia.

In a post directed at Xi on Truth Social as the parade kicked off, President Trump highlighted the U.S. role in helping China secure its freedom from Japan during World War Two. “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against the United States of America,” Trump added.

This military parade looks to have established battle lines between the American and anti American blocks of the world. But the nations that have established themselves as part of the anti American block are not nations that were ever thought to be on Washington’s side at the moment.

The argument could be that President Trump’s actions might be galvanizing nations that were more in Beijing’s orbit, but less likely to explicitly side with China in front of the world to do so, and might be making US allies in Europe and elsewhere a bit wary of siding 100% with the US.

There may be elements of truth to this, but it doesn’t seem that the fundamental contours of geopolitics, where the US still reigns supreme, have changed yet.