03/09/2025
China kicked off its largest-ever military parade on Wednesday (September 3), with the raising of a large national flag and thousands singing the national anthem.
The parade, marking 80 years since Japan’s defeat at the end of World War Two, featured marching platoons of People’s Liberation Army troops as well as cutting-edge military equipment such as hypersonic missiles, unmanned drones and outfitted tanks.
The highly choreographed “Victory Day” spectacle comes as U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” stance and trade wars have strained Washington’s long-standing alliances.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has cast World War Two as a major turning point in the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” in which it overcame the humiliation of Japan’s invasion to become an economic powerhouse.
TRT World