Xi to Host Putin and Kim at Beijing Parade as China Displays Military Power and Diplomatic Ties

Beijing prepares for a gathering with global stakes

Chinese President Xi Jinping will host Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a military parade in Beijing on September 3, 2025, bringing together three leaders whose growing cooperation is challenging Western efforts to isolate Moscow and Pyongyang.

The event in Tiananmen Square will mark the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II. China's Foreign Ministry says 26 foreign heads of state and government will attend. Most Western leaders will stay away, while Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico will be the only leader from a European Union country present.

China is preparing one of its largest military parades in years. The planned display includes more than 10,000 troops, over 100 aircraft and hundreds of pieces of ground equipment, with advanced weapons intended to show how far the People's Liberation Army has developed under Xi.

Putin and Kim bring a different message to the same stage. Russia faces Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, while North Korea faces international restrictions over its nuclear and missile programs. Standing beside Xi gives both leaders a prominent international platform despite those pressures.

For Beijing, the gathering combines remembrance of a devastating war with a demonstration of present military strength and diplomatic reach. For Moscow and Pyongyang, it offers a visible expression of support among governments that share an interest in resisting Western pressure. Their cooperation is growing, although China, Russia and North Korea have not formed a formal alliance.

Why the anniversary matters to China

China's Victory Day commemoration connects the end of World War II in Asia with the country's own experience of Japanese occupation. Millions died during a period remembered for immense suffering and resistance. The September 3 anniversary gives the Communist Party an opportunity to place that history at the centre of a national event.

The party uses such commemorations to reinforce national unity and present China as a country that has recovered from foreign invasion and humiliation. Xi's role at the parade will link that historical message to the armed forces he has worked to modernise.

Tiananmen Square will therefore serve two purposes: honouring a wartime victory and displaying the power China now commands. The message is directed both at people inside China and at governments abroad, presenting resilience, strength and the determination never again to suffer humiliation at the hands of foreign powers.

Who is coming, and who is staying away?

The announced guest list brings together leaders and representatives with different relationships to Beijing. Alongside Putin, Kim and Fico, the expected visitors include:

• Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
• Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
• Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
• Myanmar's junta chief Min Aung Hlaing.
• South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik.
• United Nations Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua.
• Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

China's figure of 26 refers to foreign heads of state and government. The wider list also includes parliamentary, international and former political figures. Hatoyama will attend, while Italy and Germany, the other Axis powers during World War II, will have no official representation.

Most European Union countries and the United States have declined to attend, citing opposition to Russia's war in Ukraine and concerns about China's assertive foreign policy. Fico's attendance reflects his government's relatively warm ties with both Russia and China, despite widespread European condemnation of Putin's actions.

China's 2015 Victory Day parade drew broader international participation, including representatives from some Western countries. A decade later, the absence of most Western leaders makes the divisions surrounding the September gathering more visible. Beijing can still draw a substantial international audience, but its most prominent guests also reveal how relations with the West have changed.

Shared interests without a formal alliance

China, Russia and North Korea each face increasing confrontation with the United States and its allies. Analysts have used the label "Axis of Upheaval" to describe countries seeking to resist Western sanctions and undermine US interests. Their cooperation is practical, built around overlapping economic, military and diplomatic needs.

Russia has relied heavily on China for economic support since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine brought extensive sanctions. Energy exports provide Moscow with revenue, while access to Chinese technology helps sustain its economy. Beijing has continued buying Russian energy and supplying technology with both civilian and military uses while describing its position on the Ukraine conflict as neutral.

North Korea depends even more heavily on China economically. Trade data put China's share of North Korean trade at about 97% in 2023, leaving roughly 3% for all other trading partners combined. That concentration helps explain why relations with Beijing remain vital even as Kim develops closer military ties with Moscow.

Iran and Myanmar, both subject to Western sanctions, also regard China as a crucial economic partner. Their presence adds to the parade's diplomatic message: governments under pressure from Western countries continue to find trade, political support and international meeting places elsewhere.

China's role as an economic and technological hub complicates Western efforts to enforce sanctions and international norms. The gathering illustrates the limits of diplomatic isolation, with Russia and North Korea finding partners and ways around restrictions despite years of pressure.

Russia and North Korea deepen military cooperation

Putin and Kim signed a defence pact in Pyongyang in 2024, pledging immediate military assistance if either country is attacked. The agreement made their relationship more consequential for security beyond the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea has reportedly supplied Russia with ammunition and troops for the war in Ukraine, receiving food, oil and weapons technology in return. Those exchanges connect Russia's military needs with North Korea's need for resources and more advanced equipment.

Beijing remains central to Pyongyang's economy, but North Korea's growing cooperation with Russia has also created friction in its relationship with China. Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, described that tension:

North Korean ties with China have been affected by Pyongyang's illicit cooperation with Moscow, even as China's political and economic support remains vital for the North Korean regime.

Kim's appearance alongside both presidents would allow him to display close relations with Moscow while giving attention to Beijing. The three governments have reasons to cooperate, yet each also has its own priorities. The parade offers a setting in which they can put those differences aside and present a common public message.

Why Kim's visit is especially unusual

Kim has rarely travelled abroad since taking power in 2011. His last visit to China was in 2019, and since the pandemic he has left North Korea only once, for a 2023 summit with Putin in Russia's Far East. He has never participated in a multilateral event of this scale, meaning a gathering involving leaders from many countries.

For Kim, Beijing offers an opportunity to appear as a participant in international diplomacy rather than as an isolated leader. Analysts describe his aim as showing solidarity with governments friendly to Russia and China and strengthening his standing abroad.

His diplomatic objective has been described this way: "Kim aims to show solidarity with pro-Russia and pro-China countries and to present himself as a leader of a normal country." The appearance could also help him seek economic and military support as North Korea prepares for major domestic celebrations.

Kim must also manage the balance between his two powerful neighbours. Closer ties with Moscow bring resources and military cooperation, while China's dominant share of North Korean trade gives Beijing lasting importance. Appearing with both leaders allows him to cultivate each relationship without relying too heavily on either.

There is also speculation that the visit could connect with an effort to revive diplomacy with former US President Donald Trump, whom Kim has previously met. Some analysts believe Kim wants to repair relations with Xi before approaching Trump from a stronger position. No renewed diplomatic initiative has been announced.

What China's military plans to display

Chinese officials say all equipment in the parade will be domestically produced and currently in service. Many systems will make their first public appearance, offering a rare view of weapons and equipment developed during China's military modernisation.

The event has been described broadly as involving tens of thousands of troops, while the more specific participation figures given are more than 10,000 troops, over 100 aircraft and hundreds of pieces of ground equipment. The display will be tightly choreographed, with Xi surveying the troops alongside foreign dignitaries.

Expected highlights include:

• Hypersonic weapons, designed to travel at extremely high speeds.
• Advanced fighter jets.
• Electronic jamming equipment and air defence systems.
• Strategic missiles.
• Technology to counter drones and defend against missiles.

Electronic jamming equipment interferes with signals that an opponent may need for communications or other military tasks. Technology with both civilian and military uses, often called dual use technology, can serve ordinary economic activity while also supporting armed forces.

Xi has overseen sweeping reforms of the People's Liberation Army, placing greater weight on warfare using advanced technology and on the ability to operate beyond China's borders. The parade will reinforce his image as the leader directing that transformation, placing weapons, troops and foreign guests within the same carefully arranged public event.

Beijing's message of cooperation and resistance

China presents its relationship with North Korea in terms of cooperation, shared political goals and regional stability. Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei set out that position at a recent press conference:

China is willing to continue to work hand in hand with North Korea to strengthen exchanges and cooperation, advance socialist construction, and closely collaborate in promoting regional peace and stability as well as safeguarding international fairness and justice.

Hong's statement places Beijing's support for Pyongyang within a broader argument about international fairness. China, Russia and North Korea increasingly describe Western policies as attempts to contain them or threaten their political systems. Their shared appearance will give that argument a highly visible setting.

Western governments view the relationships through different concerns, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine, North Korea's nuclear program and China's conduct abroad. The absence of most Western leaders reflects those disputes and reinforces the political divide surrounding the commemoration.

For the United States and its allies, the immediate challenge is concrete: economic pressure on one government is harder to sustain when other governments continue buying its exports, supplying useful technology or providing military resources. Russia's energy relationship with China and its defence cooperation with North Korea bring those connections into the same picture.

The dates leading to September 3

The planned gathering follows years of developing relationships rather than a single diplomatic breakthrough. Kim's limited foreign travel, Russia's war and the defence agreement between Moscow and Pyongyang help explain why this appearance carries unusual weight.

• 2011: Kim Jong Un took power in North Korea.
• 2015: China's Victory Day parade attracted broader international participation, including from some Western countries.
• 2019: Kim made his most recent visit to China before the planned September gathering.
• 2022: Russia invaded Ukraine and subsequently relied more heavily on China amid Western sanctions.
• 2023: Kim met Putin in Russia's Far East. China accounted for about 97% of North Korean trade that year.
• 2024: Putin and Kim signed their defence pact in Pyongyang.
• August 28, 2025: Beijing was preparing to welcome the announced foreign guests.
• September 3, 2025: The parade is scheduled to take place in Tiananmen Square.

September 3 will bring those relationships together in a public display of military capability and diplomatic solidarity. Xi will commemorate China's wartime suffering and victory while hosting partners whose presence signals resistance to Western pressure. Putin and Kim will gain a prominent stage at an event designed to demonstrate that China and its partners remain connected despite sanctions and criticism.

Key Points

• China plans a military parade in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2025, marking the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.
• Xi Jinping will host Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, with 26 foreign heads of state and government expected.
• The planned military display includes more than 10,000 troops, over 100 aircraft and hundreds of pieces of ground equipment.
• Most Western leaders will stay away. Slovakia's Robert Fico will be the only European Union leader attending.
• Kim's planned appearance will be his first at a multilateral gathering of this scale and his first visit to China since 2019.
• Russia and North Korea signed a defence pact in 2024, while China accounted for about 97% of North Korean trade in 2023.
• China, Russia and North Korea are deepening cooperation around shared interests without forming a formal alliance.