Key points
- Vladimir Putin and other world leaders expected to attend
- The event will commemorate China’s wartime resistance
- Millions of Chinese people were killed during the war
ISLAMABAD: China will unveil a slate of new domestically produced military hardware that will showcase its “powerful capability to prevail in modern war” at a parade next month, officials said Wednesday.
The event, marking 80 years since the end of World War II, will see President Xi Jinping inspect troops in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and other world leaders expected to attend, according to AFP.
Millions of Chinese people were killed during a prolonged war with imperial Japan in the 1930s and 40s, which became part of a global conflict following Tokyo’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
The September 3 parade, the second such procession since 2015 to observe the formal surrender of Japanese forces in 1945, will be a show of China’s military strength, according to Reuters.
Blockbuster events
The ruling Communist Party has held a series of blockbuster events in recent years to commemorate its wartime resistance.
On September 3, China’s military will showcase its latest equipment, “reflecting the evolution of modern warfare”, said Major General Wu Zeke, an official at China’s military commission.
“All of the weapons and equipment taking part in this review were selected from domestically produced, currently active main battle systems, with a significant proportion being newly unveiled equipment,” Wu told reporters at a briefing.
Strategic heavy weapons
These will include strategic heavy weapons, hypersonic precision systems, as well as unmanned and counter-unmanned equipment making their first public debut, he added.
The parade, which will last around 70 minutes, will “fully showcase our military’s powerful capability to prevail in modern war”, Wu said.
It will also feature ground troops marching in formation, armoured columns, aerial echelons and other high-tech fighting gear.
The Kremlin has confirmed Putin will attend, and Chinese officials said other world leaders are also expected to take in the scene.
Defence spending
China in March raised its defence spending for 2025 by 7.2 per cent.
The increase comes as Beijing’s armed forces undergo rapid modernisation and eye deepening strategic competition with the United States.
China has the world’s second-largest military budget, but lags well behind the United States, its primary strategic rival.
