China's Xi oversees massive military parade with Putin, Kim in attendance

#China

#Victory Parade

#XiJinping

China flexed its military muscle at a huge military parade in Beijing to mark 80 years since the end of World War II, displaying its latest generation of stealth fighters, tanks and ballistic missiles amid a highly choreographed cast of thousands.

The parade through Tiananmen Square on Wednesday morning was overseen by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is also the head of the country's military and the Chinese Communist Party.

After greeting foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Xi moved on to welcome Chinese military veterans before taking his place at the centre of the event.
Putin and Kim were just some of the 26 world leaders who attended the parade, in a group that was drawn from mostly non-Western countries.

China flexed its military muscle at a huge military parade in Beijing to mark 80 years since the end of World War II, displaying its latest generation of stealth fighters, tanks and ballistic missiles amid a highly choreographed cast of thousands.

The parade through Tiananmen Square on Wednesday morning was overseen by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is also the head of the country's military and the Chinese Communist Party.

As he spoke of China's victory over "Japanese aggression" in the "world anti-fascist war", he thanked foreign governments for their help. Xi did not mention the United States by name, despite the country's prominent role in ending World War II.

The Chinese leader said that lessons from the war were as relevant now as ever.

"Humanity is again faced with a choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, and win-win outcomes or zero-sum games," Xi said, according to an official readout of his speech.