China is about to hold its largest-ever military parade with 26 world leaders including Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un in attendance.
More than 50,000 spectators at Tiananmen Square will watch aerial displays, marching platoons of People’s Liberation Army troops as well as cutting-edge military equipment such as hypersonic missiles, unmanned drones and outfitted tanks.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping will be flanked by Putin and Kim during the highly choreographed “Victory Day” spectacle, largely shunned by Western leaders.
China is expected to unveil new weaponry including what propagandists have described as “the most powerful laser air defence system in the world” during the parade.
Major roads and schools have been closed in Beijing for the 70-minute parade, the culmination of weeks of painstaking security preparations and midnight rehearsals.
