Nectar Gan, Brad Lendon, Jessie Yeung, Simone McCarthy
Xi Jinping staged a staggering show of China’s military power on Wednesday before some of the world’s most powerful authoritarian leaders, rallying them behind his vision for a new world order as US President Donald Trump wages a global trade war and shakes up American alliances.
From atop the Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing, Xi presided over a 70-minute parade to mark the end of World War II – flanked by a strongman waging Europe’s bloodiest conflict since 1945 and an Asian leader funneling him troops and weapons.
To many in the West, the defining image of the spectacle is not the parade of stealth fighter jets, nuclear-capable missiles or troops marching in perfect synchrony – but the sight of Xi, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un standing side by side, in an unprecedented show of solidarity against the US and its allies.
They formed the defiant face of a growing bloc of illiberal leaders determined to push back against Western rules and tilt the global balance of power in their favor.
“The Chinese nation is the great nation that is never intimidated by any bullies,” Xi, China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, told the leaders of 26 countries, thousands of troops and more than 50,000 spectators gathering in the heart of Beijing.
At various moments throughout the parade, Xi, Putin and Kim – who had never appeared together in public before – were seen leaning toward one another, sharing a smile and even overheard chatting about immortality and longevity on the way to the Tiananmen rostrum.
The deliberate display of unity is a pointed rebuke to Trump’s faltering attempt to end Russia’s war in Ukraine – and an open challenge to America’s waning global leadership under the US president.
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