On September 3, 2025, Beijing’s vast Tiananmen Square became center stage for a tightly choreographed military parade that marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II—a conflict that devastated China and left an indelible mark on its national psyche. The event, attended by a select group of world leaders and watched by millions on television, underscored China’s growing military might and its evolving place in the global order.
Among the most closely watched guests was North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who arrived in Beijing by special train after departing Pyongyang on August 31. According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim traveled with top officials, including Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, and was expected to receive the same level of protocol and security as Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim’s journey marked his first visit to China since 2019 and his fifth since taking power in 2011, but it was his debut at a major multilateral event—a sign, perhaps, of shifting diplomatic ambitions.
Kim’s attendance, alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Putin, was notable not just for the symbolism of three key U.S. rivals sharing the same stage, but also for its potential to demonstrate a budding unity against Washington. As reported by AP, the three leaders have met bilaterally in the past, but never together at a single venue. While none of their governments confirmed a private trilateral meeting, the possibility loomed large, especially as Kim was anticipated to stand with Xi and Putin on the parade rostrum and to hold bilateral talks with both leaders. The South Korean intelligence service, as cited by lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, anticipated Kim would also mingle with other heads of state at a reception and cultural performance, further expanding his diplomatic reach.
For Xi Jinping, the parade was a chance to showcase China’s military advancements and to reinforce the Communist Party’s narrative of national rejuvenation. The event was the first major military parade in China since 2019 and featured missiles, fighter jets, tanks, drones, and other advanced weaponry—some displayed publicly for the first time. According to AP, land, sea, and air-based strategic weapons rolled past Xi, who, as chairman of the Central Military Commission, stood before troops marching in lockstep. Warplanes and helicopters soared overhead in formation, while Xi delivered a speech designed to instill pride and assure the populace of China’s strength in the face of any threat.
But the parade was not just a domestic spectacle. The guest list was carefully curated: about two dozen foreign leaders attended, including Putin, Kim, and the president of Iran. Notably absent were the heads of state from the United States, Western Europe, Japan, India, and South Korea—a reflection of the complex and sometimes tense dynamics shaping Asia’s alliances. As AP noted, the event was tightly controlled, with barriers keeping the public at bay and commercial buildings along the route closed for the duration. For most, the only way to witness the display was through a television or livestream, underscoring the parade’s dual role as both a message to the world and an exercise in internal unity.
China’s emphasis on the anniversary is a relatively recent phenomenon. As historian Emily Matson explained to AP, the Communist Party originally downplayed the war’s end, since much of the fighting was led by the Nationalists, whom the Communists overthrew in 1949. But with the economic reforms of 1978 and the nation’s subsequent rise, the party’s narrative shifted from class struggle to nation-building. “This is a new nationalism in that it begins to include not just the Chinese proletariat but the whole Chinese nation,” Matson observed. Under Xi, who came to power in 2012, the party has worked to make the defeat of Japan a cornerstone of its legitimacy and a symbol of China’s emergence from a period of foreign domination.
The government’s efforts are visible not just in parades, but in spruced-up war museums, new films, and public exhibitions. At a war museum in Shenyang, 92-year-old army veteran Yang Huafeng recounted the transformation from the ragtag troops of 1949 to today’s formidable forces. “Now you see our country’s planes… no one dares to mess with them,” he told journalists, his chest adorned with medals. For visitors like middle school teacher Yan Hongjia, the suffering of China’s wartime generation resonates with contemporary conflicts. “Let’s think about it, if the children in Gaza during the war were our children, would we be willing to relive this history, this humiliation and this pain?” she reflected at the museum, drawing a parallel between past and present tragedies.
China’s portrayal of the war and its aftermath is not just about remembrance—it’s about staking a claim to leadership in the postwar global order. Harvard historian Rana Mitter pointed out to AP that recent exhibitions have highlighted the role of Soviet pilots in aiding China, a nod to deepening ties with Russia. The parade, Mitter said, is being used “to argue that China is now the real inheritor of that 1945 global order.” This message is particularly pointed as the United States, under President Donald Trump, has challenged established norms and alliances, prompting China to present itself as a defender of stability and international law.
The presence of Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin further underscored this geopolitical realignment. North Korea, which has sent around 15,000 troops to Russia since the fall of 2024—2,000 of whom are believed to have died in combat, according to South Korean intelligence—has become an increasingly vocal player in international affairs. Kim’s government has also agreed to send thousands of military construction workers and deminers to Russia’s Kursk region, with the first 1,000 reportedly already there. North Korea’s pivot toward Russia has coincided with a cooling of relations with China, but Kim’s attendance at the parade suggests an attempt to restore ties with Beijing, North Korea’s largest trading partner and aid provider, as he braces for the eventual end of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Kim’s visit also came on the heels of a tour of a North Korean missile research institute, where he reviewed progress on a new engine for a next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Analysts believe this weapon could carry multiple nuclear warheads and potentially evade U.S. missile defenses—a stark reminder of the ongoing security challenges in the region.
As China projects confidence and military prowess, its neighbors and rivals are left to interpret the meaning behind the spectacle. For some, like Taiwan and the Philippines, China’s assertiveness has become a source of anxiety, while others see the parade as a bid to counterbalance American power and present a united front with Russia and North Korea. “China is trying to say that it was a key member leading the establishment of the postwar global order,” said Shin Kawashima, a University of Tokyo expert, “and that it has now reached a stage where it is catching up with and overtaking the United States.”
The parade may be over, but the messages it sent—to both the Chinese people and the watching world—are likely to reverberate for some time to come, shaping perceptions and alliances in an increasingly unpredictable era.