Sean Calabria
Vice President & Director of Research
On September 3, China hosted a military parade in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Like similar ceremonial military demonstrations, the event sought to showcase some of China’s most sophisticated weaponry and advancements. The attendance of Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un alongside Xi Jinping was a visual manifestation an axis focused on countering U.S. hegemony.
The parade took place in Tiananmen Square with over 50,000 observers in attendance and was the culmination of a week of high-level diplomacy at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit that included Indian Prime Minister Modi and years of work by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to challenge America’s dominance on the global stage.
China’s Modernized Military
Highlights of the weaponry in the parade included underwater drones, hypersonic anti-ship missiles, and new intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads to U.S. soil. The choice of China’s display suggests Beijing is continuing its development and fielding of advanced capabilities that directly threaten American power projection capabilities or seek to undermine longstanding U.S. military advantages in air, maritime, and nuclear weapons.
Analysts have pointed to China’s stocks of hypersonic missiles as grave threats to previously unchallenged movements of American aircraft carriers in a potential conflict in the Pacific. Likewise, China’s rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal, with Russia’s assistance, supports the Pentagon’s late 2024 findings that Beijing will have over 1,000 operation warheads by 2030. The United States faces an unprecedented challenge of deterring two peer competitors (Russia, China) as well as North Korea.
Xi Jinping used the opportunity to threaten Taiwan, saying that the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) task was to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and unification, an apparent reference to China’s claim over Taiwan. The statement prompted a response from Taiwanese President Lai who said, “Taiwan does not use the barrel of a gun to commemorate peace. Instead, it recalls the martyrs, remembers the lessons of history, and upholds the belief in freedom and democracy.”
China-Russia-North Korea Axis
The attendance of Putin and Kim at the event signaled closer ties and also marked Kim’s 2025 debut on a multilateral diplomatic stage. China, Russia, and North Korea each benefitted from one another’s attendance as the three seek to project a potential alternative to the U.S. led international order.
North Korea is a major supporter of Putin’s war in Ukraine and China has also provided support, continuing a conflict that Trump has urged both sides to end through negotiations. Before Kim left for China, North Korean state media publicized his meeting with families of North Korean soldiers who died in Ukraine signaling that the regime will continue to support Russia. Kim told Putin in Beijing that he would do everything to assist Putin.
President Trump responded to the portrayal, rhetorically writing to Xi Jinping on Truth Social, “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America.” Trump’s reaction suggests his administration will prepare future actions and policies designed to counter China and undermine its closer ties with Russia and North Korea. When asked about Trump’s post, Putin told reporters that “over these four days, during negotiations of all kinds, both in formal and informal settings, no one has ever expressed any negative judgments on the current American administration.”
AGS will continue to monitor geopolitical developments concerning China’s military modernization and its cooperative efforts with Russia and North Korea and will provide updates as necessary.
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