China’s leader, Xi Jinping, presided over a massive military parade in Beijing on Wednesday featuring fighter jets, missiles and goose-stepping troops as he issued a defiant warning to rivals not to challenge his country’s sovereignty.
His message was underscored by the leaders gathered by his side in the viewing gallery, representing states that have challenged or questioned American dominance of the global order. He was flanked by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, along with the leaders of Iran, Pakistan and other mostly authoritarian nations.
Cannons fired 80 times to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II, as soldiers carried a Chinese flag and marched across a red carpet covering part of Tiananmen Square. Crowds watching the parade waved small flags and saluted as the national anthem was played and the flag was raised. Later, pigeons and balloons — said to number 80,000 each — were released into the air.
The parade was the highlight of a weekslong campaign by the ruling Communist Party to stoke nationalism, recast China’s role in World War II and project the party as the nation’s savior against a foreign aggressor, Imperial Japan. The evoking of wartime memories serves to rally domestic Chinese support in the face of economic uncertainty and tensions with the United States, which Mr. Xi has accused of trying to contain and suppress China.
“The Chinese nation is a great nation that fears no tyranny and stands firm on its own feet,” Mr. Xi declared from the rostrum of Tiananmen Gate, above a large portrait of Mao Zedong.
He drew a direct line between the sacrifices of World War II and the challenges that China says it faces today.
“When faced in the past with a life-and-death struggle between justice and evil, light and darkness, progress and reaction, the Chinese people united in hatred of the enemy and rose up in resistance,” he said. He cast today’s tensions as another fateful choice, between peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, and said China would side with progress.
The event was rich in symbolism tying the Communist Party of today with its revolutionary past. Senior Chinese leaders, past and present, gathered along with Mr. Xi, who wore a Mao-style suit, echoing the founding father of the People’s Republic.
Later, Mr. Xi stood in the open sunroof of a Chinese-made Red Flag limousine — a car that evokes both Mao’s era and China’s ambition of industrial self-reliance — as he reviewed People’s Liberation Army troops. He called out, “Greetings, comrades,” and “Comrades, you are working hard!”
The troops turned their heads in perfect synchronicity as Mr. Xi’s car passed them, and responded in unison: “Follow the Party! Fight to win! Forge exemplary conduct!” To demonstrate their war readiness, soldiers holding guns jogged past tanks holding missiles and leaped into their vehicles.
The presence of Mr. Putin highlighted the way that China and Russia have sought to align their histories, each presenting World War II as proof of their countries’ sacrifice and as justification for demanding a greater say in the postwar international order.
“For both Xi and Putin, victory was costly, but incomplete. They believe that ‘hegemonic forces’ still want to impose a foreign model upon them and block their rightful place in the world,” said Joseph Torigian, an associate professor at American University. “Now, they want to use the memory of the war to inoculate future generations against Western values and legitimate the global order they envision.”
Mr. Xi’s message did not go unanswered. Within minutes of the start of the ceremony, President Trump weighed in from Washington, accusing Mr. Xi of ignoring America’s role in helping China during the war.
On Truth Social, he wrote that the “big question” was whether Mr. Xi would “mention the massive amount of support and ‘blood’ that The United States of America gave to China in order to help it to secure its FREEDOM from a very unfriendly foreign invader.”
Mr. Trump added: “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America.”
The Kremlin pushed back against the accusation that the leaders were meeting to “conspire” against the United States. “Let’s hope that it was meant in some figurative sense,” Dmitri Peskov, Mr. Putin’s spokesman, told reporters. “No one is plotting any conspiracies — no one has the desire or the time for this.”
Mr. Xi’s parade was not just a commemoration of the past but, even more so, a message for the West about China’s “unstoppable” rise.
It showcased new ship-destroying missiles, undersea drones and crewless combat planes that highlighted China’s investments in military innovation, as China increasingly rivals the United States for military dominance of Asia. Mr. Xi also issued an implicit warning to Taiwan and its international supporters of the perils of any move toward formal independence.
In his speech, Mr. Xi vowed to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and he said: “The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has always been a heroic force on which the Party and the people can totally rely.”
The guest list underscored how much the divide between Beijing and the West has deepened, particularly over China’s close alignment with Russia in its war in Ukraine. Conspicuously absent were high-level representatives from major Western democracies, including the United States. But the leaders of many Southeast Asian and Central Asian nations attended the parade, showing China’s success in strengthening regional partnerships.
”Xi is driven to gain acceptance of China as a central global power and to revise the international system to better suit China’s preferences,” said Ryan Hass, director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution. “He views the presence of other leaders at his parade as validating progress toward his goals.”
The show of strength was matched by extraordinary security. Many roads were closed ahead of time, with countless security guards stationed around Beijing. Journalists had been told to assemble at a site shortly before 3 a.m. for equipment checks before being led to Tiananmen Square three hours before the start of the parade.
For days, volunteers wearing red armbands had been stationed across the city to watch for potential disturbances. Neighborhood workers hung Chinese flags outside every household in the hutongs — historic narrow alleyways in Beijing’s center — and sent messages to residents reminding them to guard against anything that could disrupt the event or cause bad news.
“During this important event, we encourage everybody to watch the military parade from home, to take concrete actions to cheer on our country and celebrate the momentous occasion,” one message read. “Avoid crowded places to reduce the risks of gathering.”
Vivian Wang contributed reporting from Beijing, and Chris Buckley and Lily Kuo from Taipei, Taiwan.
David Pierson covers Chinese foreign policy and China’s economic and cultural engagement with the world. He has been a journalist for more than two decades.
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