Beijing Readies Grand “Victory Day” Parade: A Choreographed Display of Power and Precision

BEIJING, Sept. 3, 2025 — At dawn tomorrow, Beijing’s storied Tiananmen Square will awaken to a spectacle of steel and stride, as the People’s Liberation Army stages its largest military parade in nearly a decade. This grand display—slated to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Asia—will bring together tens of thousands of troops, cutting-edge weaponry, and a drumbeat of national pride.

President Xi Jinping is expected to review the formations and deliver a carefully crafted message—one aimed at domestic audiences and global rivals alike. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un will be among the approximately 26 foreign dignitaries in attendance, underscoring China’s alignment with a reconfigured global axis. 

A Hard-Edged Choreography

Not since its 2019 show of military might has China opted for such a carefully choreographed parade. Troop formations, armored vehicles, and aircraft will march and fly in disciplined synchrony. Spectators will be kept at a distance, with roads sealed off and public viewing confined to livestreams and broadcasts. 

Weaponry: From Lasers to Hypersonics

The parade promises to feature systems unveiled for the first time in public, signaling China’s investment in high-tech warfare. Among them:

• Hypersonic missiles such as the YJ‑15 through YJ‑20 series, capable of Mach‑8 and beyond, designed to challenge naval defenses.  
• Directed-energy—or “laser”—air defense systems, touted as world-leading in intercepting drones.  
• Autonomous platforms, including drone swarms, drone ships, and unmanned underwater vehicles, reflecting a shift toward unmanned, networked warfare.  
• Strategic arms, including nuclear-capable ICBMs and cruise missiles, and underwater strike systems.  

PLA Commanders Step into View

While Chinese top brass typically remain out of the spotlight, today’s event demands tribute to the commanders orchestrating the march. General Wu Zeke, a senior PLA officer involved in planning, framed the parade as a deliberate demonstration of strategic deterrence, focused on “new‑type combat capabilities” including long-range, evasive strike systems. 

Attention is also on the general who will ride with Xi Jinping as the parade inspector—an appointment viewed by analysts as a window into who currently commands loyalty and trust within the PLA’s upper ranks. 

Nationalism and Memory, Marshalled in Red

Beyond the hardware, the parade is a channel for Xi Jinping’s narrative: that the Communist Party has restored China’s rightful status in the world. This revivalist message is sharp-edged—intended for an audience at home eager for stability, and abroad, seeking to unsettle Western hegemony. 

Calm voices may be in the minority, but they still exist. Veteran commentator Miles Yu recently denounced the parade as a “supreme fiction,” accusing state media of erasing the contributions of China’s Nationalists and elevating the CCP’s myth-making above historical truth. 

The Tactical Layer: Anti-Access and A2/AD Bubbles

China’s parade is neither ceremonial nor superficial. It’s a public declaration of its growing anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) capabilities—designed to complicate any adversary attempt to operate within contested zones near Taiwan or in the South China Sea.

China’s unveiling of systems that blend precision strike, sensing, and autonomy suggests a more interconnected approach to warfare—one that favors layered deterrence over just brute force. 

Counterpoint: U.S. Air Force Focus—Agility, Resilience, and Deterrence

While not directly part of tomorrow’s spectacle, comments made by U.S. Air Force leaders over the last days are relevant here. They stress that deterrence is the product of capability × willingness × messaging—and that while China’s parade is heavy on messages and hardware, it may still lag behind in integration, operational flexibility, and innovation. The U.S. emphasizes Agile Combat Employment (ACE)—the ability to disperse, rapidly repair, and operate in contested spaces—as its own antidote to China’s forward-leaning posture.

Operationally, U.S. officials are zeroing in on detection; rapid sortie generation; and rapid runway restoration as key enablers of base resilience in high-end scenarios.

A Global Audience, an Internal Script

The parade is as much a performance for domestic consumption as it is a geopolitical statement. The presence of leaders like Putin and Kim creates a visual counterweight to absence of Western powers—including the U.S., Japan, India, and South Korea. 

Diplomats note that Australia sent only a minimal delegation, while the U.S. and its allies largely declined invitations, signaling discomfort with the spectacle’s politicized nature. 

Marching Toward Tomorrow

As the drumbeats and jet roars fade tomorrow, the parade’s legacy will rest on two pillars: domestic narrative and external calculus. For President Xi, it’s a chance to cement his imprint on modern China’s identity. For global powers, it’s one more data point in a fast-evolving strategic landscape.

Seen through the lens of the U.S., the message is less about the hardware on display and more about the durability of deterrence, flexibility under fire, and the rising friction between staged strength and lived resilience.