Overview

• Xi Jinping opened the Tiananmen Square parade marking 80 years since Japan’s defeat, with more than 20 leaders in attendance and Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un flanking him.
• The display featured hypersonic missiles, intercontinental nuclear-capable Dongfeng systems, layered air-defense units, new laser weapons, giant unmanned undersea drones and robotic quadrupeds.
• Framing the week’s events around the SCO gathering, Xi urged rejection of “Cold War” thinking and promoted a multipolar order under a rules vision distinct from the West.
• President Donald Trump accused Xi, Putin and Kim of “conspiring against the United States,” and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent derided the summit as theatrical while criticizing Chinese and Indian purchases of Russian oil.
• Analysts and governments are watching for concrete follow-through such as joint drills, arms transfers or energy agreements, with Gazprom touting pipeline progress that Beijing has not confirmed.