Xi Declares China ‘Unstoppable’ as He Joins Kim and Putin in Defiance of the West

BEIJING, Sept 4 — Chinese President Xi Jinping stood flanked by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a grand military parade in Beijing yesterday, underscoring a week of high-profile diplomacy aimed at projecting unity against the West.

In an unprecedented show, Xi walked the red carpet at Tiananmen Square with Putin to his right and Kim to his left, greeting both leaders warmly. The parade, officially commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, doubled as a display of China’s growing military power and its tightening ties with key allies.

Opening the event, Xi warned that the world still faced “a choice between peace and war,” declaring that China was “unstoppable.”

Among the most prominent weapons showcased was the new DF-5C intercontinental ballistic missile, capable of striking targets up to 20,000 kilometres away. The spectacle drew sharp criticism from US President Donald Trump, who accused Xi, Putin, and Kim of colluding against Washington.

“Give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also condemned the trio’s joint appearance, calling it “a direct challenge to the rules-based international order” and warning that “a new global order is in the making.”

In Beijing, Putin vowed to continue Russia’s war in Ukraine if no peace agreement could be reached, saying: “If not, then we will have to resolve all our tasks militarily.”

The 90-minute parade saw Xi reviewing massed troops and weapons from an open-top limousine along Chang’an Avenue, before returning to a viewing platform under Mao Zedong’s portrait at Tiananmen. Rows of soldiers, cutting-edge supersonic missiles, underwater drones, and fighter jets—including a flypast forming the number “80”—were part of the highly choreographed display broadcast nationwide.

The event capped a whirlwind week for Xi, who had hosted Eurasian leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, where he denounced “bullying behaviour” from unnamed nations, widely seen as a jab at the US. Many SCO leaders joined him in Beijing, though no major Western officials were present.

Security in the capital was heavily reinforced, with roadblocks, checkpoints, and soldiers deployed across key areas.

Kim’s presence was particularly notable—it was his first public appearance alongside both Xi and Putin, and only his second foreign trip in six years. He was accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae and sister Kim Yo Jong, who was seen at a gala lunch.

Following the parade, Putin and Kim held talks, with Putin thanking North Korea for sending troops to support Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.

Lam Peng Er, a research fellow at the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore, said Kim’s appearance signalled to both North Koreans and the world that he enjoyed the backing of powerful allies. “China is also demonstrating its convening power and political influence by bringing Putin and Kim together,” he told AFP. — AFP