Overview

• China staged a 70-minute military parade in Beijing, where Xi Jinping reviewed troops and urged faster PLA modernization while warning the world faces a choice between peace or war.
• Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un flanked Xi, joining roughly two dozen mostly non‑Western leaders as major Western leaders stayed away.
• China publicly showcased advanced hardware for the first time, including hypersonic missiles, ICBMs such as the DF-5C, stealth and counter‑drone systems, strategic bombers and new cyber and information support units.
• Trump posted on Truth Social that Xi, Putin and Kim were “conspiring against” the United States, even as he told reporters the parade did not challenge U.S. power.
• TASS reported preparations under way for a possible Putin–Kim meeting in Beijing after the parade, though no trilateral session was confirmed.