China hosted a major military parade in capital Beijing on Wednesday, marking 80 years since the end of World War II.
In the country’s largest ever military parade, Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, presenting China’s military prowess and vision for the future. Also present was Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter and possible heir, Kim Ju Ae, who made her first known international trip to China for the parade
Here is what happened during the parade.
What time did China’s Victory Day parade start?
The event began on Wednesday at 9am (01:00 GMT).
The last time China hosted a victory day military parade was 10 years ago. That was also the first time China had organised a grand military parade to commemorate the end of the war.
What happened during the parade?
The parade was a presentation of Chinese military might, comprising a choreographed showcase of advanced military equipment such as drones, hypersonic missiles and fighter jets.
China unveiled nuclear-capable missiles that can be launched from land, sea, and air simultaneously – marking the first public display of China’s complete “triad” of nuclear-ready capabilities.
This included the Jinglei-1, an air-based, long-range missile; Julang-3, an intercontinental missile which is submarine-launched; and Dongfeng-31 and Dongfeng-61, land-based intercontinental missiles.
China also presented the Yingji-19, Yingji-17 and Yingji-20, which are hypersonic anti-ship missiles which China has tested against prototypes of US aircraft carriers.
Also on display were drones with the ability to function underwater as well as in the air, some of which are intended for reconnaissance missions and precision strikes. Additionally, unmanned helicopters designed for ship-based launches were featured in the parade.
Cruise missiles, Changjian-20A, Yingji-18C, Changjian-1000, and hypersonic missiles Yingji-21, Dongfeng-17 and Dongfeng-26D also appeared during the event.
The parade also featured a performance by a military band and choir.
Prior to the parade, state media reported that 80 buglers would be performing, marking the 80 years since the defeat of Imperial Japan in World War II. State media also reported that more than 1,000 musicians would be seated over 14 rows, representing each year of China’s resistance following Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in 1931.
Xi made a speech addressing 50,000 spectators at Tiananmen Square. “Today, mankind is faced with the choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, win-win or zero-sum,” said Xi, adding that Chinese people “firmly stand on the right side of history”.
He wore a suit akin to those worn by Mao Zedong, who led the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to victory during the Chinese civil war after the second world war.
Spectators in Tiananmen Square were seated on chairs coloured green, red and gold, which symbolise fertile land, the sacrifices of the people and peace, respectively, according to China’s state broadcaster, CCTV.
Security across Beijing has been scaled up since August, when the rehearsals for the parade began.
Which world leaders attended the event?
Xi greeted more than 25 foreign leaders for the event.
The particular guests of honour, however, were Putin and Kim, who flanked Xi on the red carpet.
Putin was already in China, having attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin on Sunday and Monday. North Korea’s Kim arrived in China early on Tuesday after his armoured train crossed the North Korea-China border, the state-controlled Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported.
It was the first time a North Korean leader had attended a Chinese military parade in 66 years. The last North Korean leader to attend a military parade in China was the country’s founder – Kim’s late grandfather, Kim Il Sung, in 1959.
Other leaders who travelled to China for the SCO summit or related meetings, and stayed for the September 3 parade, included Myanmar military chief Min Aung Hlaing, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
But others joined them, too.
Other guests included Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto made a surprise appearance, despite widespread anti-government protests back home.
Only two European leaders, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, attended the event in Beijing.
While Slovakia is part of the European Union and NATO, Fico has pushed for closer ties with Russia and visited Moscow for talks with Putin in December 2024. Vucic, like Fico, has been critical of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine and has recently visited Moscow.
Why does China hold a Victory Day parade and what does it commemorate?
The German invasion of Poland in 1939, which resulted in Britain and France declaring war on Germany, is commonly considered in the Western world as the point when World War II started.
But Asia had been facing the brunt of Japanese aggression for several years by then.
After the invasion of Manchuria in 1931, Japanese and Chinese troops – primarily under Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang (KMT) and the CCP – engaged in a series of skirmishes. But at the time, the KMT and the CCP were also locked in the first phase of their own civil war for control of China, and Japan made major advances.
Then, in July 1937, Japanese and Chinese troops clashed outside of Beijing. Within days, this burgeoned into a full-blown conflict – by then, the KMT and CCP had agreed to a united front against the Japanese that would last until the end of the war in 1945.
The Japanese military began to invade eastern cities, including Nanjing, killing thousands of civilians, destroying villages and raping women. The CCP and KMT continued to resist. Some estimates say that 20 million Chinese people died as a result of the war, a majority of them civilians.
In 1941, the United States, under Democratic President Franklin D Roosevelt, imposed an oil embargo on Japan. In December 1941, the Japanese army launched a surprise attack on the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, causing damage and casualties, and drawing the US into the war.
In the 1940s, Japan captured other parts of Asian countries as well, including parts of modern-day Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar, and parts of present-day India.
In 1945, the US Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima and three days later, on the city of Nagasaki. After this, the Soviet Union also declared war on Japan.
Japan formally surrendered on September 2.
The CCP and KMT resumed their civil war, with the communists under the leadership of Mao Zedong, finally emerging victorious in 1949, when Chiang and his remaining KMT troops fled to Taiwan, setting up a parallel government there.
In 2014, the Chinese government declared September 3, the day after Japan’s surrender, as Victory Day.
In 2015, the CCP acknowledged the sacrifices made by KMT soldiers during the war, inviting veterans to attend the military march back then. At the time, Taiwan was ruled by the KMT – which, despite their historical tensions, has long sought closer relations with mainland China under the CCP.
Since 2016, however, Taiwan has been ruled by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has been assertive about the self-governing territory’s sovereignty. China, which insists that Taiwan must be reunited with the mainland, has been critical of the DPP.
Against that backdrop, Wednesday’s parade is expected to highlight the CCP’s role in defeating Japan.