Karachi:
President Xi Jinping urged world nations to “eliminate the deep cause of war and prevent historical tragedies from recurring” while China organized a massive military show in the Beijing center on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of his victory during the Second World War.
It was only the second military parade of the genre since 2015, held to mark the victory harshly won in what China calls the Chinese people’s war of resistance against Japanese aggression and the world anti-fascist war.
In his speech delivered before the parade, XI described victory as the first complete triumph of China over the foreign aggression in modern times. He said that the Chinese people have made huge sacrifices in war, contributing significantly to “salvation of human civilization and the defense of world peace”. By reaffirming China’s commitment to peaceful development despite global instability, he warned that humanity is again confronted with a brutal choice: “Peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, and win-win or zero games.”
26 Nations present
The leaders of 26 countries, including the main regional players, attended the high -level event, which was closely linked to the summit of the Shanghai cooperation organization recently concluded in Tianjin. The commemorations have once again placed China at the center of global diplomatic engagement. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was one of the people present.
At the start of the parade, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong One flanked Xi Jinping in a striking unity demonstration, the first time that the three leaders appeared together in public.
Addressing thousands of spectators and troops gathered in Beijing, Xi said: “The Chinese nation is a great nation that is never intimidated by intimidators.” He underlined Chinese strength and resilience, telling the military that the rise of the country was “unstoppable”.
Western reactions
US President Donald Trump reacted with sarcasm on Truth Social, writing: “Please give Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, while you conspire against the United States of America.”
Western media coverage has been strongly focused on the military dimension of the parade, forming it as a “warning” in the West. Foreign policy described him as “powerful diplomatic exposure”, while Reuters underlined China’s efforts to present his “military power and diplomatic influence”. The Associated Press said that the parade aimed to strengthen public confidence in the defense capacities of China also raised “concerns” among neighboring countries.
Malcolm Davis, principal analyst of Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told CNN that the unveiling of weapons put forward by XI was a deliberate signal: “It is about intimidation. It is a question of asserting the reality of China, or the perception of China, that the rise of China is unstoppable”.
He added that XI’s solidarity display with leaders like Putin and Kim was a “warning” in the west, especially with regard to Taiwan. “China says … We will impose a unification on Taiwan … by military force at a time of our choice and we constitute the military capacities to do so,” said CNN Davis.
Davis also noted that China moves much faster in this critical military technology zone than the United States. “They earn an advantage that will give them the ability to make much more difficult for the United States and its allies to be able to project power into the Western Pacific in crisis.”
Home diplomacy
While a large part of Western media coverage focused on the military dimensions of the event, Chinese experts and civil servants stressed that commemorations were intended to assert peaceful development and global cooperation. They described the show as a lively demonstration of China’s “diplomacy of the field of origin” and a signal of Beijing’s commitment to build a stable international order in the midst of growing global tensions.
Addressing the Global Times, Dr. Lü Xiang, a researcher of American studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that events have stressed the evolutionary role of China in global affairs. “In addition to remembering history, these commemorations present the strategic value of China’s diplomatic commitment at a time when the world faces an increasing uncertainty,” he noted.
Xinhua, managed by the state, characterized commemorations as a “pivotal moment” so that countries reflect on history lessons and jointly engage in the peaceful future. The agency also said that China, as a “manufacturer and padded world capable of world peace”, is ready to defend international order after the Second World War and maintain equity and justice.
Wang Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), said that recent diplomatic initiatives in Beijing reflect his vision of multilateral dialogue and cooperation. “These platforms allow not only a bilateral commitment but also give other nations space to meet, shake hands and explore common ground,” he told Global Times.
Among European leaders, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was one of the few EU representatives to attend the commemorations. In a video message broadcast by China Central Television, Fico expressed deep respect for the sacrifices made by China and the former Soviet Union during the Second World War and openly asked why other EU countries had chosen to stay away.
“A new world order takes shape – a based on multipolarity and dialogue,” said Fico. “It is disappointing to see EU representatives act as a sulky child rather than engaging in a constructive manner in this evolving global conversation.”
Exhibited military modernization
Wednesday’s military parade was the first since President Xi Jinping announced the “new trip to continue Chinese modernization on all fronts”. Beijing has established a roadmap to obtain mainly a complete modernization by 2035.
“The rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is unstoppable,” said Xi in his speech, reiterating his vision of the future of China. He urged the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to transform himself into a world class force and resolutely protect national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.
The 70 -minute parade presented the transformation of Chinese soldiers into a modern and technologically advanced force. Among the exposed weapons were unanswered recognition and counter-ground systems, hypersonic missiles, directed energy weapons and electronic war equipment.
For the first time, China unveiled its land, sea and air -based strategic forces, collectively forming a nuclear triad. The systems, described as the strategic “AS” of China for the safeguarding of sovereignty and national dignity, included the long-range missile launched by Jinglei-1, the intercontinental ballistic missile launched by the Julang-3, and a new variant of the Dongfeng-31 ICBM.
