Chinese President Xi Jinping will be joined by several world leaders at a major military parade in Beijing next week marking the end of World War II.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing are scheduled to attend the September 3 “Victory Day” event commemorating Japan’s surrender. It will be the first time Putin and Kim appear publicly with Xi.
The parade, expected to feature tens of thousands of Chinese troops, will be among the largest held in Beijing in recent years. A total of 26 foreign heads of state and government are confirmed to participate.
Other guests include Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, and South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, Chinese officials said. The United Nations will be represented by Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua, a former Chinese diplomat. Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will also attend.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Serbian President Aleksander Vucic are the only Western leaders expected at the ceremony.
Putin last visited China in 2024, while Kim’s most recent trip was in 2019.
