BEIJING: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is among 26 world leaders in China to witness on Wednesday the country’s biggest-ever military parade, a show of strength staged by President Xi Jinping to underline Beijing’s growing power on the global stage.

China kicked off its largest-ever military parade on Wednesday, a show of its growing firepower and geopolitical clout as President Xi Jinping seeks to cast Beijing as the custodian of a post-U.S. international order.

Flanked by Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, Xi was shown on television strolling up a red carpet to take his seat for the lavish event at Tiananmen Square to mark 80 years since Japan’s defeat at the end of World War Two.

Wearing a suit in the style of those worn by former leader Mao Zedong, Xi earlier greeted around two dozen largely non-western leaders in attendance, including Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto, who made a surprise appearance despite widespread protests at home.

He was shown saying “Nice to meet you” and “Welcome to China” in English.

The highly choreographed “Victory Day” spectacle comes as US President Donald Trump’s “America First” stance and trade wars have strained Washington’s long-standing alliances.

Asked whether he sees the parade as a challenge to the United States on Tuesday, Trump said he didn’t and reiterated his “very good relationship” with Xi. 

“China needs us much more than we need them,” he added.

More than 50,000 spectators at Tiananmen Square packed into stands in Tiananmen Square awaiting the 70-minute showcase of aerial displays, marching troops as well as cutting-edge military equipment such as hypersonic missiles, unmanned drones and outfitted tanks.

Major roads and schools have been closed in Beijing for the parade, the culmination of weeks of painstaking security preparations and midnight rehearsals.

Xi will review the troops lined up in formation before delivering a keynote speech atop the Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing, where a portrait of China’s late Chairman Mao Zedong overlooks Tiananmen Square.

Vision for new global order

Xi has described World War Two as a turning point in the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”, in which it overcame Japanese invasion and humiliation to emerge as a rising global power.

He is expected to emphasise China and Soviet Russia’s role in defeating fascism and defending the postwar international order in his address.

Earlier this week, Xi outlined his vision of a new global order at a regional security summit, urging unity against “hegemonism and power politics” – widely seen as a swipe at the United States and Trump’s tariffs on both allies and rivals.

Putin has already used the occasion to sign deeper energy deals with China, while the gathering offers Kim an opportunity to gain tacit backing for his sanctioned nuclear programme.

Kim, attending his first major multilateral event, is the first North Korean leader to join a Chinese military parade in 66 years.

His daughter Ju Ae, viewed by South Korean intelligence as his likely successor, is making her first international appearance after years of being seen alongside him at domestic events.

Authorities have left nothing to chance for the high-profile event.

Local governments across China have mobilised tens of thousands of volunteers and Communist Party members to maintain security and prevent unrest ahead of the parade, according to online recruitment notices.

“President Xi will use this opportunity to demonstrate that the military is firmly behind him,” said Wen-Ti Sung, a fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub.

• India already operates S-400, with talks on for more acquisitions.
• $5.5bn 2018 deal covered 5 systems, aimed at countering China.
• Deliveries face repeated delays; last two systems due in 2026–27.

Moscow and New Delhi are negotiating increased deliveries of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to India, TASS news agency cited a senior Russian defence export official as saying late on Tuesday.

“India already has our S-400 system,” TASS quoted Dmitry Shugayev, head of Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, as saying.

“There is potential to expand our cooperation in this area as well. That means new deliveries. For now, we are in the negotiation stage.”

India signed a $5.5 billion deal with Russia in 2018 for five S-400 Triumf long-range surface-to-air missile systems, which New Delhi says it needs to counter a threat from China.

But deliveries of the systems have been delayed several times. Moscow is expected to deliver units of the final two S-400 systems to India in 2026 and 2027.

India’s Narendra Modi told Vladimir Putin on Monday that India and Russia stood side by side even in difficult times after the Kremlin leader called the Indian prime minister his “dear friend” on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in China.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in remarks published on Wednesday that India did not bow to the demands by the United States to stop purchasing resources from Russia and that Moscow “appreciated” that.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Russia accounted for 36% of India’s arms imports between 2020-2024, with France providing 33% and Israel 13%.

PARIS: France has said that Europe is ready to stand by Ukraine with long-term security guarantees once the war ends — but it now wants the United States to step up and do its part. 

President Emmanuel Macron’s office said on Tuesday that Kyiv’s European allies are prepared to contribute to security guarantees for Ukraine after any peace deal with Russia.

Ahead of a meeting between Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and allies in Paris on Thursday, an Elysee Palace official said, “We are ready,” adding that Europeans now hope to secure “the support of the Americans to guarantee Ukraine’s security.”

A so-called Coalition of the Willing, made up of around 30 countries, intends to support Ukraine’s military and could potentially deploy some of its own soldiers once a ceasefire is reached. The aim of any deployment would be to deter future Russian aggression.

According to a French diplomatic source, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and his US counterpart Marco Rubio, in a telephone call on Tuesday, “stressed the good existing cooperation in the Coalition of the Willing” ahead of Thursday’s meeting.

A US State Department spokesman said the two ministers “agreed to continue cooperation in diplomatic efforts to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end through a negotiated settlement with measures in place to secure a lasting peace.”

Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will jointly chair Thursday’s meeting.

An Elysee official said: “We now have enough contributions to be able to say to the Americans that we are ready to take our responsibilities as long as they take on theirs — meaning giving European partners a ‘backstop’.”

That backstop could involve several areas, including intelligence, logistical support, and communications. But US President Donald Trump has ruled out any American troops on the ground.

Trump has so far failed in his attempt to organise a summit between President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky, after hosting the Russian leader in Alaska last month.

On Tuesday, Trump said he was “very disappointed” in Putin for not moving towards a peace deal on Ukraine.

The United States will send a representative to Thursday’s meeting, Macron’s office confirmed, without giving details.