Overview

• Xi Jinping presided over a tightly secured, 70‑minute military parade at Tiananmen featuring more than 10,000 troops, over 100 aircraft and hundreds of armored vehicles.
• Vladimir Putin and the rarely traveling Kim Jong Un sat alongside Xi with roughly two dozen foreign leaders present and no major Western leaders in attendance.
• In a speech invoking national revival, Xi framed a choice between peace or war and avoided explicit references to the United States, Taiwan or tariffs.
• China displayed advanced weaponry, with state and press reports citing systems such as the DF‑5C ICBM, YJ‑series hypersonic missiles, underwater drones and lasers, though independent verification remains limited.
• The parade capped days of diplomacy that included an SCO gathering, drew a sarcastic rebuke from U.S. President Donald Trump and coincided with reports of Putin advancing energy deals with China.