'Unstoppable' China's massive military parade brings Xi, Putin and Kim together in rare show of unity against West
n this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, (L-R) Russia's President Vladimir Putin walks with China's President Xi Jinping and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un before a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2025. Photograph: (AFP)
In a grand display of military power, Beijing hosted a massive parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The event featured a rare joint appearance by Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Beijing on Wednesday (Sep 3) rolled out its military might with a massive parade marking 80 years since the end of World War II. At the extravagant parade, Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un made a rare joint appearance with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi, flanked by Putin on his right and Kim on his left, greeted his guests on a red carpet in Tiananmen Square before the spectacle began with a gun salute, tightly choreographed marches, flyovers and displays of China's newest high-tech weaponry. The Chinese premier, while kicking off the massive parade, said China was "unstoppable" while warning that humanity faces a choice between "peace or war, dialogue and confrontation."
'Unstoppable' China
"The rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is unstoppable, and humanity's cause of peace and development will prevail," Xi said in a speech aired on television.
"Humanity is again faced with a choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, and win-win outcomes or zero-sum games," he added in an apparent dig at the West. This massive event caps a week of diplomatic theatre by Xi, who just hosted Eurasian leaders at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin. There, he railed against "bullying behaviour" by the West.
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The significance of Putin and Kim's presence
The presence of both Putin and Kim — who has rarely left North Korea in the past six years — was being seen as a diplomatic coup for Beijing. Kim, who arrived by his signature olive-green train with his daughter Kim Ju Ae, was welcomed by China's foreign minister on Tuesday. While Beijing has framed the parade as a show of unity with allies, no major Western leaders were in attendance at the major event.
For Kim, the event marks his first public appearance alongside both Xi and Putin, underlining what analysts say is China’s effort to project influence by bringing the Russian and North Korean leaders onto the same stage.
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Talking to AFP, Lam Peng Er, principal research fellow from the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore, said Kim's visit "demonstrates to the North Koreans and the world that he has powerful Russian and Chinese friends who treat him with respect".
"China also shows that it has convening power and political influence to bring Putin and Kim Jong Un together," he added.
