Mega parade showcases China's global ambitions
Beijing's September 3 military parade showcased advanced indigenous weaponry, strategic deterrence, and global posturing, even as questions linger over operational readiness and command cohesion
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 "Srikanth Kondapalli")
 "China's land operations group participates in the military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War-II, in Beijing, on September 3 (Photo: Reuters)")
China’s land operations group participates in the military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War-II, in Beijing, on September 3 (Photo: Reuters)
Signalling deterrence towards its adversaries, exhibiting “united front” tactics against Western countries and others, preparing to raise a “world class military”, displaying its defence technological advancements along with new equipment to woo countries for arms exports, and waging psychological warfare, China conducted a massive military parade on September 3 in Beijing.Unlike India’s inclusive and annual Republic Day parade in New Delhi, which sees participation from states, institutions, and civil society across the country, the Beijing parade was confined to the 45 formations of the armed forces, indicating the rule of the army-party combine. Also, Beijing has witnessed only 17
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Srikanth Kondapalli
The author is a professor, China studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
 "Srikanth Kondapalli")
First Published: Oct 07 2025 | 5:00 PM IST
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