In a dramatic show of power, Xi Jinping stood alongside Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un at a once-in-a-decade Beijing parade, unveiling cutting-edge Chinese weapons while sparking U.S. outrage.
Beijing turned into a stage of global theater on Wednesday as Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un appeared together publicly for the first time, drawing the world’s eyes to Tiananmen Square.
The parade, commemorating 80 years since Japan’s WWII defeat, opened with an 80-gun salute, choirs singing revolutionary anthems, and waves of red flags, before China unveiled a fearsome arsenal of hypersonic missiles, combat drones, and nuclear-capable ballistic rockets. Analysts say these systems are built to neutralize U.S. naval dominance in the Pacific.
Xi delivered a fiery speech declaring that China’s rejuvenation is “unstoppable”, urging nations to “eliminate the root cause of war” and seek “win-win outcomes instead of zero-sum games.”
The optics rattled Washington. Former U.S. President Donald Trump blasted the trio, accusing them of “conspiring against America”, while reminding Xi of U.S. sacrifices during WWII. The Kremlin dismissed Trump’s remarks with irony, saying they hoped he was joking.
Meanwhile, the spectacle served as a backdrop for deepening alliances: Xi and Putin reaffirmed their “unprecedentedly high” ties, and Gazprom signed a landmark deal to advance the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, set to funnel Russian gas into China via Mongolia — a major geopolitical win for Putin amid Western sanctions.
This unprecedented display of unity between Beijing, Moscow, and Pyongyang marks not just a military parade, but a loud signal of shifting global power dynamics.
