BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping will be flanked by leaders of some of the world’s most heavily sanctioned nations - Russia, North Korea, Iran and Myanmar - at a military parade next week in Beijing, in a show of solidarity against the West.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un will attend “Victory Day” parade on September 3 marking the end of World War Two after Japan’s formal surrender - the first time they have appeared in public alongside Xi.
US President Donald Trump bristled Tuesday at Putin’s stalling on an American proposal for direct peace talks with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump said Friday he expects to decide on next steps in two weeks if direct talks aren’t scheduled
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is also expected to be on the dais as tens of thousands of troops march through the Chinese capital, completing a quartet that Western political and economic analysts have described as the ‘Axis of Upheaval’.
Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who rarely travels abroad, will also attend, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday.
Almost no Western leaders will be among the 26 foreign heads of state or government attending the parade, which political analysts say will demonstrate Xi’s influence over nations intent on reshaping the Western-led global order.
“Xi Jinping is trying to showcase that he is very strong, that he is still powerful and well received in China,” said Alfred Wu, Associate Professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.
“When Xi was just a regional leader, he looked up to Putin, and saw the kind of leader he could learn from - and now he is a global leader. Having Kim alongside him, as well, highlights how Xi is now also a global leader.”
A loose coalition of states bent on reshaping the Western-led global order, the “Axis of Upheaval” has sought to undermine U.S. interests.
The only Western heads of state or government attending the events in Beijing are Robert Fico, the Prime Minister of European Union member state Slovakia, and
Aleksander Vucic, the President of Serbia.