BEIJING, China, Sep 3 — China staged a grand military parade on Wednesday to mark the nation’s 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in an event that saw over a dozen world leaders converge in Beijing.
The event styled as the Victory Day parade started shortly after 9am local time with the arrival of high-level delegations at the historic Tian’anmen Square including Russian President Vladmir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
President Xi Jingping arrived at the venue in a military convoy at 9.30am, driving past a guard of honour mounted by formations of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) including the Air Force, Army, Navy, Rocket Force and the Aerospace Force.
During the event that lasted about three hours, PLA displayed its latest hardware and technological advancements in a drill complemented by fly past of military combat and logistical support aircrafts.
A formation of twenty-six helicopters formed a numerical display of 80 to mark the 1945 victory as troops marched past displaying newly-acquired armaments and military technology marched past.
The PLA showcased new hardware including new-generation armored vehicles consisting Type-100 tanks and Type-100 fighting vehicles, carrier-based air defense equipment and ship-based air defense weapons.
The air defense weaponry formation attends a military parade in Beijing, capital of China, September 3, 2025/Xinhua
China also paraded hypersonic anti-ship missiles, including YingJi-19, YingJi-17 and YingJi-20 as well as air defense weapons, including HongQi-20, HongQi-19 and HongQi-29.
It also featured fighter jets, bombers, multi-phase and multi-layered missile interception systems, anti-unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) systems and cyberspace warfare equipment.
In his speech at the parade, Xi vowed an unrelating campaign to safeguard China’s development trajectory under the CPC, vowing to reject “bullying” and resist attempts to “distort or smear” the Communist Party.
“The Chinese people will never allow any individual or any force to distort the history of the CPC or smear the Party’s nature and mission,” he declared.
“The Chinese people will never allow any individual or any force to distort and alter the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, or deny and vilify the great achievements the Chinese people have made in building socialism,” the Chinese leader added.
Xi made the remarks in a veiled reference to the West even as he urged nations across the world to treat each other as equals, promote harmony, and mutually support one another.
“The Chinese people will never allow any individual or any force to impose their will on China through bullying, change China’s direction of progress, or obstruct the Chinese people’s efforts to create a better life.”
He vowed sustained efforts to forge new alliances while protecting existing ties.
“The Chinese people will never allow any individual or any force to jeopardize their peaceful lives and right to development, obstruct their exchanges and cooperation with other peoples, or undermine the noble cause of peace and development for humanity,” Xi stated.
While unveiling his Global Governance Initiativea the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) family on Monday, stressing China’s readiness to work with all countries for a more just and equitable global governance system positioning Beijing as an architect of a new world order.
“We should maintain that all countries, regardless of size, strength and wealth, are equal participants, decision-makers and beneficiaries in global governance,” Xi told leaders attending the SCO forum in Tianjin.
Xi pointed out that the Cold War mentality, hegemony and protectionism continue to haunt the world, and “global governance has come to a new crossroads”.
“We should promote greater democracy in international relations and increase the representation and voice of developing countries,” he said, warning against “double standards” and rules imposed by “a few countries”.
Xi vowed to support efforts to protect the UN’s “irreplaceable, key role” in global governance.
