Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) lays on full military honors for Russian President Vladimir Putin outside the east gate of the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square during a visit to Beijing in May 2024. Photo courtesy of Russian Foreign Ministry/UPI | License Photo
China’s foreign ministry announced Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would attend a military parade in Beijing to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Asia.
The invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping makes the pair the guests of honor on a roster of two dozen world leaders traveling for Wednesday’s event in Tiananmen Square that includes Myanmar Military Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and pro-Russian European heads.
The surprise attendance of Kim, who has only left North Korea on 10 occasions in the 14 years since coming to power in 2011, was confirmed by the state-run KCNA news agency.
Putin’s invitation was in reciprocation for the invite he extended to Xi to attend Russia’s own commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the war back in May.
However, no representative from any of China’s World War II-era allies, which included the United States, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and the then-U.S. colony of the Philippines, will be present at the Chinese events.
The 70-minute-long spectacle will see more than 10,000 troops take part in a march-past accompanied by the latest military hardware and more than 100 aircraft overflying the square in a show of China’s growing military might under Xi’s presidency.
All the equipment on parade is developed and manufactured in China and in use by the People’s Liberation Army, according to Chinese officials who stressed that for some kit, including advanced drones, electronic jamming systems, hypersonic weapons and air and missile-defense tech, it would be the first time it had been on public display.
The show of strength in the presence of the group of international leaders was being seen as a diplomatic coup for Xi in his bid to portray China as a key player on the global stage and project power.
Xi demonstrated his ability to bring the leaders who control key global events together at will — something that has eluded the administration of U.S. President Trump, who has been battling for months to bring the sides in the Ukraine war together to hold peace talks.
Xi was said to be sending a message that the ties he has fostered with Putin and Kim — with North Korea supplying both troops and weapons to Russia’s war effort — could be key should he decide to use his influence to help broker an agreement to end the fighting.
The Beijing gathering also upstages efforts at outreach to the region being pursued by the White House, which has suggested Trump would be willing to meet Xi during a possible visit to the region in October.
During his meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in the White House on Tuesday, Trump also indicated he would like to meet with Kim again before the year was out.
The pair last met in the DMZ separating North Korea from South Korea in June 2019, with Trump briefly becoming the first U.S. president to step inside the isolationist Stalinist state.
