A large-scale military parade was held in the Chinese capital, Beijing, on September 3 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Among the invited guests were the leaders of Russia and North Korea, Putin and Kim Jong-un.
This is reported by AP and the Chinese publication China Daily.
At the parade, President of the Peopleʼs Republic of China Xi Jinping showed off the countryʼs weapons, including some that had not been publicly demonstrated before:
- hypersonic missiles designed to destroy ships at sea;
- underwater drones, in particular the AJX002;
- the new DF-61 intercontinental ballistic missile;
- fighters, bombers and helicopters, including the JL-10 aircraft;
- long-range air-launched missile JingLei-1;
- JuLang-3 submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missile;
- ChangJian-20A, YingJi-18C and ChangJian-1000 cruise missiles;
- a new type of land-based intercontinental missile, DongFeng-31.
Among the 20 invited world leaders were the self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, the head of Russia Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico, as well as the leader of North Korea Kim Jong Un.
Xi arrived at the parade in a black limousine. In his speech, the Chinese leader mentioned veterans, called for the eradication of war, and at the end of the parade, 80 000 "peace doves" were released into the sky.
Trumpʼs reaction
President of the United States of America Donald Trump, against the backdrop of the parade, ironically stated that the leaders of China, Russia and North Korea are "conspiring against the United States".
"Wishing President Xi and the wonderful people of China a great and long day of celebration. Please convey my warmest greetings to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un as you conspire against the United States of America," he wrote.
Trump said he saw the leadersʼ meeting as "a challenge for the United States".
- On the eve of a large-scale military parade in Beijing, the President of the Peopleʼs Republic of China Xi Jinping held a bilateral meeting with Vladimir Putin.
- On September 2, China and Russia signed a memorandum on the construction of a gas pipeline to China via Mongolia, "Power of Siberia 2".
- Also on September 2, the heads of state agreed that China would introduce a trial 30-day visa-free regime for Russians. The trial visa-free regime will last for 1 year — until September 14, 2026.
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