Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong Un at China’s largest-ever military parade. Photo courtesy of Xinhua.
On September 3, 2025, China staged its largest-ever military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. Far from a simple commemoration, the event was a calculated display of power. Beijing used the occasion to showcase its expanding military capabilities and position itself as the leader of a rival order to the U.S.-led system. Just as significant as the weapons on display was the coalition-building that surrounded the parade.
The parade followed directly on the heels of the largest-ever Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, held in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, where Xi hosted more than 20 world leaders. The SCO now counts 10 member states, governing 40 percent of the world’s population, and provided the diplomatic foundation for the parade’s show of unity. Notably, India attended the summit but not the parade.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Xi for the first time in seven years, pledging to improve bilateral ties based on “mutual respect, trust and sensitivities.” His outreach came partly in response to Trump’s 50 percent tariffs on Indian goods. Images of Modi, Xi, and Putin laughing together captured a striking moment of warmth from a leader long courted by Washington as a counterweight to China.
At the parade itself, Xi Jinping stood alongside Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un as goose-stepping soldiers filled Tiananmen Square. The message was unmistakable: authoritarian regimes are openly aligned against the United States and its allies. Analysts noted that the event “served notice that China wants to be seen as a peer to the United States and Russia in strategic deterrence” and highlighted Beijing’s pursuit of “integrated, multi-domain operations” across space, cyber, and the electromagnetic spectrum.
For the first time, Xi, Putin, and Kim appeared together in public, joined by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. This lineup embodied what observers call an “Axis of Upheaval,” China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, countries united less by ideology than by their shared opposition to Washington. For Kim Jong Un, it was also a milestone: his first multilateral diplomatic event, where he introduced his teenage daughter, Kim Ju Ae, signaling dynastic continuity.
Beyond these headline figures, the parade drew 26 world leaders, reinforcing the sense of an emerging bloc. Attendees included Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Mongolia’s President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, Uzbekistan’s Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko. Southeast Asian leaders such as Vietnam’s Luong Cuong and Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim joined as well, alongside figures from Nepal, the Maldives, and Zimbabwe. Their participation signaled a growing willingness among U.S.-aligned or neutral states to lean toward Beijing’s orbit.
Xi used both the SCO summit and the parade to signal an alternative global order. Speaking to the assembled leaders, he declared: “The house rules of a few countries should not be imposed on others,” a clear rebuke to Washington. He further urged members to “oppose the Cold War mentality, block confrontation and bullying practices,” long-standing code for China’s criticism of U.S. policy.
Economically, Xi called for the creation of a new SCO development bank, pledging 2 billion RMB ($280 million) in grants and another 10 billion RMB ($1.4 billion) in loans. Some members agreed to pursue the bank as part of the bloc’s broader goal of building an alternative payment system to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar.
Militarily, the alignment is already tangible. Iran and North Korea have supplied Moscow with weapons, and in Pyongyang’s case, troops, while China has provided economic and industrial support for Russia’s war effort. This practical cooperation underlines why Western observers increasingly see these states as an emerging anti-American axis.
Symbolism reinforced substance: Xi stood flanked by Putin and Kim in a historic show of unity, the first time a North Korean leader had attended a Chinese military parade in 66 years.
Chatham House assessed that Beijing views the SCO summit and Victory Day parade as platforms to advance its vision of global relations: a world where Western leadership is diminished and non-Western countries shape a multipolar order. Jonathan Czin, a Brookings analyst and former CIA China expert, described the joint attendance of Xi, Putin, Kim, and Pezeshkian as “disconcerting,” allowing them to present “a facade of partnership.” The optics of unity, even if not backed by deep coordination, amplified their challenge to the United States.
Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, issued a stark warning:
“This week’s spectacle in Beijing, where the world’s foremost dictators are calling for a new world order in front of goose-stepping troops, must be a wake-up call for the United States. We cannot be weak in the face of authoritarian aggression any longer and allow Putin, Xi, and their enablers to plunge the world into yet another era of conflict and war.”
President Trump responded on Truth Social with characteristic bluntness: “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against the United States of America,” though he also reaffirmed his “very good relationship” with Xi Jinping.
Western leaders largely stayed away from the parade, with only two European leaders present: Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico. Their participation underscored Europe’s divisions, even as the broader West sought to distance itself from Beijing’s show of authoritarian solidarity.
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