Beijing — August 28, 2025: Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will join Chinese President Xi Jinping next week in Beijing for a massive military parade, their first public appearance together in what analysts say is a pointed rebuke to Western power.
China’s foreign ministry confirmed Thursday that 26 foreign leaders will attend the September 3 “Victory Day” commemoration. But it is the presence of Putin and Kim—both under international sanctions and accused of destabilizing global security—that will dominate attention.
For Putin, who faces an International Criminal Court warrant and a sanctions-hit economy, the event offers rare international visibility. Kim, similarly ostracized for North Korea’s nuclear program, last set foot in China in 2019. Their appearance alongside Xi reflects a tightening axis of states resisting Western pressure.
Belarus’s Aleksandr Lukashenko, Iran’s Masoud Pezashkian, and Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic are also set to attend. The United Nations will be represented by Li Junhua, a former Chinese diplomat, underscoring Beijing’s influence within the institution.
Xi will preside over a choreographed display of China’s rising military strength, surveying troops and advanced weaponry in Tiananmen Square. Fighter jets, missile defenses, and hypersonic arms are expected to headline the spectacle.
Analysts say the parade is as much about the present as the past. While officially marking the defeat of Japan in World War II, it will project a new alignment—China at the center, flanked by Russia and North Korea—signaling that Western isolation has only deepened their solidarity.
