World Leaders to Join Military Parade in Beijing Amid Geopolitical Tensions
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un are among the foreign leaders who will attend a military parade alongside President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week, a gathering seen as a display of unity amid international pressure.
According to China’s foreign ministry, no Western leaders—aside from Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose country is part of the EU—will be among the 26 foreign heads of state and government present at the event.
The parade on 3 September, marking Victory Day, will highlight China’s military advancements, with the three leaders emphasizing solidarity.
Russia, considered a strategic partner by Beijing, has faced repeated Western sanctions following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, pushing its economy toward recession. Putin, currently under an international arrest warrant, last visited China in 2024.
North Korea, a treaty ally of China, has been under UN sanctions since 2006 due to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Kim’s last trip to China was in January 2019.
Other attendees include Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, and South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, according to Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić will also participate.
The UN will be represented by Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua, a former Chinese diplomat who has served as ambassador to Italy, San Marino, and Myanmar.
President Xi will oversee the parade at Tiananmen Square, joined by foreign dignitaries and senior Chinese officials. The event, one of China’s largest in years, will feature advanced military hardware, including fighter jets, missile defense systems, and hypersonic weapons.
The commemoration recalls the conflict with imperial Japan in the 1930s and 40s, which culminated in Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. China’s Communist Party has staged major events in recent years to honor its wartime resistance, pledging that the nation will never face such devastation again.
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