War or peace
Today president Xi Jinping said the world was facing a choice between peace or war as he held China’s largest-ever military parade, joined by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un in a show of defiance to the west.
Putin and Kim, the authoritarian leaders of Russia and North Korea, were among dozens of world leaders who attended the parade, a massive display of military hardware and personnel, orchestrated to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, which China calls the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.*1
“Today, humanity is again faced with the choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, win-win or zero-sum,” Xi told the crowd of more than 50,000 spectators, adding that the Chinese people “firmly stand on the right side of history”.
He said China was a great nation that “is never intimidated by any bullies” in an apparent veiled reference to the US and its allies and warned that China was “unstoppable”.
After his remarks, Xi stood in an open top car to inspect the parade, greeting troops and receiving salutes, as miles of military hardware drove by and warplanes flew overhead.
ConspiratorsJennifer Parker, adjunct fellow in naval studies at UNSW Canberra, said the parade was more about China sending a specific message than signalling new capabilities. “You don’t do a parade like this to commemorate the end of world war two. You do a parade like this to show force, and you are choosing the capabilities that you put into that parade to send a specific message,” she said.
The analyst Wen-Ti Sung, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, said: “Beijing is sending a message … that even if western countries continue to sanction Russia over the Russia-Ukraine war, Beijing will not be afraid to stand by its friend.”
China's show of geopolitical and now military power this week will hardly surprise Western leaders. President Xi has long sought to put himself at the centre of a new world order – one that replaces the crumbling global systems established after World War Two.
US President Donald Trump has accused Xi Jinping of conspiring against the US with the leaders of Russia and North Korea. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: "May President Xi and the wonderful people of China have a great and lasting day of celebration. Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America."
Sources: The Guardian and the BBC.
*1 Highlights of the parade.