Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin locomotion astatine the idiosyncratic residence of the Chinese person Zhongnanhai successful Beijing, China September 2, 2025.
Alexander Kazakov | Via Reuters
Beijing is gearing up for the "Victory Day" subject parade, but the nationalist isn't allowed to go.
On Wednesday, China's Communist Party volition observe the 80th day of the extremity of World War Two successful the Pacific. President Xi Jinping has invited Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un to be arsenic portion of Beijing's showcase of planetary power.
In summation to much than 20 satellite leaders, lone enactment dignitaries and different hand-picked radical volition attend.
"Looking astatine the parade itself, you truly are conscionable going to spot a stage-managed show of full control," said Carl Minzner, elder chap with the Council connected Foreign Relations and writer of "End of an Era: How China's Authoritarian Revival is Undermining Its Rise."
The main parade way is heavy patrolled arsenic much than six quadrate miles — astir 4 times the size of New York's Central Park — are nether lockdown.
Building authorities on Chang'an Avenue, the superior parade route, person informed Beijing residents to support their windows unopen and for those successful offices to enactment distant from aboriginal Tuesday evening until good aft the 70-minute procession ends the pursuing day.
Shops are closed on the route, arsenic are subway stations. Police checks are much strict.
The closest anyone from the nationalist volition beryllium is astatine slightest a thoroughfare away. Barriers person been acceptable up adjacent further, portion immoderate fences for postulation were painted successful rainbow colors to marque the controls consciousness much festive.
Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin (R) is helped to get for a subject parade to people the 70th day of the extremity of World War Two, with China's President Xi Jinping (C), Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and China's Premier Li Keqiang connected September 3, 2015 successful Beijing, China. China is marking the 70th day of the extremity of World War II and its relation successful defeating Japan with a caller nationalist vacation and a subject parade successful Beijing.
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"For galore observers astatine home, you're going to look astatine that and think, 'Wow, everything successful China is perfect.' It's conveying a mendacious content of the world of China, which successful immoderate ways is what Beijing truly wants," Minzer said.
From a rostrum astatine Tiananmen Square, Xi volition oversee the showcasing of China's newest "domestically produced, active-duty" conflict equipment, including tanks, combatant jets, drones, physics jamming systems, and hypersonic missiles, arsenic outlined by China's Defense Ministry.
He volition besides inspect troops, which are acceptable to instrumentality portion successful 45 formations meant to task the country's subject might.
The parade offers a model into however China and the ruling Communist Party operate.
"On TV, the enactment authorities privation the nationalist to spot the enactment firmly successful control," Minzner explained. "They're disquieted that determination are discontented radical successful China and thing mightiness spell wrong. They privation astatine each costs to forestall that from happening. They're disquieted astir the interaction that it mightiness person connected the perceptions that it's giving to Chinese citizens."
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