The gathering in Beijing will include the leaders of Russia and North Korea, along with the Iranian president, a grouping dubbed the axis of upheaval
On Wednesday, China is holding a military parade in the capital, Beijing, to mark 80 years since the end of the second world war. But it’s not just about the past, the parade says a lot about the forces reshaping the world today, and in the future.
At the parade, Chinese leader Xi Jinping will be flanked by the leaders of some of the world’s most heavily sanctioned nations – Russia, North Korea, Iran and Myanmar – and a host of other leaders of the global south but notably almost no western leaders.
The parade is seen as a show of military and diplomatic strength by Beijing amid high-stakes negotiations with Donald Trump’s administration in the US over trade.
Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un will attend the Victory day parade on 3 September, marking the end of the second world war after Japan’s formal surrender. It will be the first time the two leaders have appeared in public together alongside Xi.
