Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday said the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is “unstoppable” as the country’s military displayed for the first time some of its brand-new weapons, including hypersonic, laser and long-range ballistic missiles.
Photograph: Jason Lee/Reuters
Addressing an impressive parade to commemorate the 80th anniversary of China’s victory against Japanese aggression in World War II, Xi called on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to provide strategic support for national rejuvenation and make greater contributions to world peace and development.
The Chinese military for the first time displayed in the parade some of its most advanced military hardware in an apparent show of strength to the world, especially the United States.
Xi, who heads the Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall high command of the PLA, asked the Chinese military to build itself into a world-class force and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.
China is the second largest defence spender after the US. Its annual defence budget this year amounted to USD 250 billion.
Besides the military hardware, the parade also showcased China’s diplomatic power as 26 foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, attended the event.
From India’s neighbourhood, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu took part in the event.
India’s Ambassador to China Pradeep Kumar Rawat attended the event, according to sources.
Leaders from the US and heads of the European Union, besides Japan and South Korea have stayed away from the parade.
The presence of foreign leaders at the parade has become a diplomatic spat between Japan and China after Tokyo urged the world leaders to refrain from attending.
China lodged a diplomatic protest with Japan for its request to the world leaders not to attend the event.
In his speech, Xi said victory against Japan in WWII marks China’s first complete victory against foreign aggression in modern times.
Noting that the victory was achieved under a national united front against the Japanese aggression led by the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi said that the Chinese people made a major contribution to the salvation of human civilization and the defence of world peace with immense sacrifice in the war.
“Only when nations across the world treat each other as equals, live in harmony and mutually support one another can common security be safeguarded, the root cause of war eliminated, and historical tragedies prevented from recurring,” he said, flanked by Putin and Kim
“Today, humanity is again faced with a choice between peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, and win-win outcomes or zero-sum games,” Xi said.
“The Chinese people will stand firmly on the right side of history and on the side of human progress, adhere to the path of peaceful development, and join hands with the rest of the world to build a community with a shared future for humanity,” he added.
He called on Chinese people of all ethnic groups to stay united and work hard under the “strong leadership” of the CPC to build a “strong country and advance national rejuvenation on all fronts”.
At the parade, China for the first time displayed a range of new weapon systems which included new-type DF-5C liquid-fuelled intercontinental strategic nuclear missiles.
State-run Global Times reported that the missile has an estimated range of more than 20,000 kilometres, and has advantages in defence penetration and precision.
It can cover the entire globe under its strike range, it quoted an expert as saying.
Other weapon systems on display included, a vehicle-based laser defence weapon, four types of aircraft carrier-based jet fighters, deep-sea drones, H-6J long-range bomber, airborne early warning aircraft, army and navy drones, DF-26D anti-ship ballistic missiles with a range of 5000 km, CJ-1000 long-range hypersonic cruise missiles, air defence systems, HQ-29 ballistic missile interceptor, ‘Carrier killer’ missiles, new battle tank Type 99B and multiple rocket launchers.
