BBC correspondents react to Beijing’s show of strength

Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stood publicly shoulder to shoulder for the first time on Wednesday, ahead of a massive military parade in central Beijing.

That parade, which marked 80 years since China’s victory over Japan in World War Two, saw Beijing unveiling a range of new military hardware – including a new nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile, a new road-bound missile for delivering hypersonic weapons, a new laser weapon, and even “robotic dog” drones.

It comes at a time when Xi seeks to project Beijing’s power on the international stage – not just as the world’s second-largest economy, but also as a counterweight to the United States as Trump’s tariffs rock the global economic and political order.

Four BBC correspondents assess the significance of Wednesday’s parade – what it means, why it matters, and what the spectacle tells us about the “new world order”.

By Laura Bicker, China correspondent

One of the most enduring images of this military parade took place before the first cannon was fired.

President Xi welcoming North Korea’s Kim Jong Un with a long handshake, then moving on to greet Russia’s Vladimir Putin before all three walked together to watch the parade, was sheer political theatre.

This was the first time all three leaders have been seen in public together, and they really picked their moment.

But it is this meeting, not just the weapons and troops on show, that appears to have grabbed the attention of Donald Trump.

Trump posted on Truth Social earlier, accusing Xi of conspiring against America with the others. The Chinese leader said in this speech that his country is on the right side of history.

Wednesday’s parade was a choreographed spectacle of precision, power and patriotism.

Even the choir stood in perfectly even rows as they sang “without the Communist Party, there is no modern China”.

The troops goose-stepped past in unison, and each strike of the ground echoed through the stands of 50,000 guests in Tiananmen Square.

Then came the big weapons, and the crowd reached for their phones. A new ICBM, laser weapons, even robotic dogs.

The parade finished on a crowd-pleasing fly past before thousands of doves and balloons were released into the skies over the capital.

This display to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two was not just a look at where China has been, or how far China has come.

It showcased where China is going: Xi playing the role of a global leader prepared to stand alongside two of the most sanctioned leaders in the world.

And at his feet, a military which is being built to rival the West.

By James Landale, diplomatic correspondent

China’s show of geopolitical and now military power this week will hardly surprise Western leaders.

President Xi has long sought to put himself at the centre of a new world order – one that replaces the crumbling global systems established after World War Two.

But two things will send shivers down Western diplomatic spines.

One is the speed with which China is filling the vacuum left by America’s withdrawal from international norms and institutions.

A Chinese-led world order, one where territorial integrity and human rights are valued less than raw power and economic development, might prove uncomfortable for many Western countries.

The way harsh US tariffs have pushed India, the world’s biggest democracy, so quickly into the warm embrace of China, the world’s biggest autocracy, will also be of concern.

One small crumb of comfort for the West is that the so-called “axis of upheaval” on show in Beijing is not united – and India, in particular, which was not represented at Wednesday’s parade, is still at odds with China over territorial and other disputes.

The bottom line is that the economic nationalism and disruptive diplomacy of Donald Trump’s America is giving China a huge diplomatic opportunity – and it’s one Xi is seizing with open arms with his summit and parade.

By Steve Rosenberg, Russia editor

All the diplomacy (and the optics) in China this week was designed to send a clear message to the Trump administration.

So, you want to Make America Great Again, do you? It’s America First, is it? Well, then, we’ll offer an alternative to the US-led order.

That is why we saw the leaders of China, Russia and India smiling together at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit on Sunday and Monday.

It is why Vladimir Putin called Xi Jinping “a real friend”, and the Chinese leader called his Russian counterpart “old friend” earlier this week.

And it is also why Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un appeared together at the military parade on Wednesday.

In short: in the geopolitical universe different powers are aligning as a counterweight to American domination.

This doesn’t mean that all these countries and leaders are on the same wavelength. They are not. Differences remain.

But the direction of travel is clear.

As a headline in news outlet Komsomolskaya Pravda declared this week, in reference to Russia, China and India: “We will build a new world.”

By Frank Gardner, security correspondent

From massive, underwater torpedoes to state-of-the-art laser weapons that shoot down drones, China’s latest military parade will now be broken down and analysed by Pentagon experts and defence officials around the world.

The PLA has embarked on an extensive military modernisation programme that has seen it catching up – and in some areas – overtaking the United States. Hypersonic missiles that travel at more than five times the speed of sound is one area where China leads the world.

Dr Sidharth Kaushal, a leading expert on missiles at the London think tank RUSI, highlights the YJ-17 – a hypersonic glide vehicle – and the YJ-19, a hypersonic cruise missile.

China has also been investing heavily in artificial intelligence and autonomous weapons. One example of these is the AJX002: a giant, 60-foot (18m), underwater nuclear-capable drone.

China’s nuclear arsenal – numbering in the hundreds of missiles – still lags far behind those of Russia and the US who both have thousands, but it is rapidly increasing in size as well as finding innovative ways of delivering its warheads.