Xi parades firepower to signal that China won't be bullied again

World view

- By DAVID PIERSON

China began a military spectacle on Wednesday that will rumble through the ceremonial heart of the capital, featuring fighter jets, tanks and the latest in Chinese military technology in the country's most ambitious display of power and diplomatic reach in years.

As China's leader, Xi Jinping, presided over the parade, he was flanked by President Vladimir Putin of Russia and North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, along with about 20 other leaders. It was a rare gathering of autocrats who have positioned themselves in opposition to the US-led world order.

The event was rich in symbolism. Senior Chinese officials, current and retired, gathered in the rostrum of Tiananmen Gate above a large portrait of Mao Zedong, overlooking the Avenue of Heavenly Peace.

The parade, which honors the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, is the highlight of a weeks-long campaign by the ruling Communist Party to stoke nationalism, recast China's role in that conflict and project the party as the nation's savior against a foreign aggressor, Imperial Japan.

As cannons fired 80 times to mark the anniversary, soldiers carrying the Chinese flag goose-stepped across a red carpet. Crowds watching the parade waved flags and saluted as the national anthem was played and the flag was raised.