China displayed its full military strength on Wednesday in Tiananmen Square, where President Xi Jinping oversaw a massive parade marking the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II.

The highly choreographed event featured tens of thousands of troops, military veterans, and cutting-edge weapons, underscoring Xi’s ambition to project China as a global power resistant to Western pressure.

A message of strength and peace

Xi, dressed in a grey Mao suit, greeted foreign leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un before addressing the 10,000 assembled troops.

“Humanity is again faced with a choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, and win-win outcomes or zero-sum games,” Xi said, according to an official transcript.

Red flags drape from the buildings surrounding Tiananmen Square

“The Chinese people will stand firmly on the right side of history and adhere to the path of peaceful development, joining hands with the rest of the world to build a community with a shared future for humanity,” he added.

China's military parade in one minute.pic.twitter.com/xi1fEdrY50
— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 3, 2025

After his speech, Xi stood atop a vehicle to tour Chang’an Avenue, waving to troops before the parade commenced.

Advanced arsenal on display

The parade showcased China’s latest generation of stealth fighters, tanks, and ballistic missiles. Among the highlights were DF-5 intercontinental missiles, clearly marked and capable of delivering nuclear warheads, paraded in front of an estimated crowd of 50,000.

Military analysts say the display was intended not just for domestic audiences but also as a signal abroad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Chinese President Xi Jinping

“For Xi, the point is to reinforce the impression that the PRC has arrived as a great power under his leadership,” said Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore. “Another is the array of leaders at the parade, which suggests that the PRC cannot be isolated and is unafraid of pressure and bullying, particularly from the United States.”

Symbolism and geopolitics

The attendance of Putin and Kim marked a significant show of solidarity among the three nations, all at odds with Western powers. The display of military hardware, paired with Xi’s rhetoric on peace and global cooperation, reflects China’s effort to balance power projection with calls for multilateralism.

People raising their phones to take photos of the sky

The parade, meticulously planned with weeks of security lockdowns in downtown Beijing, ended with a spectacle of air force flyovers and tightly coordinated military formations — a symbolic statement of China’s “unstoppable” rise under Xi’s rule.