China to hold military parade on Sept. 3 for 80th anniversary of WWII end

China announced on Tuesday that it will host a large-scale military parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on September 3, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. President Xi Jinping is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech during the commemorative events.

The parade will showcase “new-type combat capabilities,” including unmanned intelligent systems, underwater combat units, cyber and electronic warfare forces, and hypersonic weapons, highlighting advancements in China’s military modernization.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend. His presence follows Xi’s participation in Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow this past May, where the two leaders jointly commemorated the end of WWII in Europe.

The September parade is one of several commemorative events planned. Additional ceremonies will be held on:

July 7, marking the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937, which initiated full-scale war between China and Japan.

December 13, in memory of the victims of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, which China says resulted in over 300,000 deaths. Japanese historians estimate the number at between tens of thousands and 200,000.

China refers to its WWII involvement as the “War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression” from 1937 to 1945.

The commemorations are also expected to coincide with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit this fall in Tianjin, where leaders from China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus, and Central Asian nations are likely to participate in the related events in Beijing.

The parade and surrounding ceremonies are aimed at both honoring historical memory and reinforcing China’s strategic partnerships and growing military profile amid current global tensions.

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