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2025 China Victory Day Parade

Coordinates: 39°54′26.4″N 116°23′27.9″E / 39.907333°N 116.391083°E / 39.907333; 116.391083
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Conference to Commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War
纪念中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争胜利80周年大会
Logo of 2025 China Victory Day Parade
GenreMilitary parade
Date(s)September 3, 2025
Location(s)Chang'an Avenue, Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China
Coordinates39°54′26.4″N 116°23′27.9″E / 39.907333°N 116.391083°E / 39.907333; 116.391083
Previous event2015 China Victory Day Parade
ParticipantsParty and state leaders
General Secretary of the CCPXi Jinping[a]
Organised byChinese Communist Party (CCP)
Central Military Commission (CMC)
PeopleLi Qiang (Premier and host)
  1. ^ CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping has also served as Chairman of the CCP Central Military Commission, the supreme commander of the armed forces since 2012.

The 2025 China Victory Day Parade (officially the Conference to Commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War) was a military parade held on Chang'an Avenue, Beijing, on 3 September 2025 to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II.

Over 12,000 troops of the People's Liberation Army participated in the parade. Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping inspected the troops, Premier Li Qiang was the master of ceremonies and General Han Shengyan [zh] was the chief commander of the parade.

Preparations

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Reception for the parade

The official logo for the event was officially unveiled by the State Council Information Office on 13 May 2025.[1] Senior PLA officer Wu Zeke stated in June 2025 that the parade will feature "new-type combat capabilities" as well as a speech by CCP general secretary Xi Jinping.[2][3]

Opening remarks

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In his opening remarks, Xi stated that "[t]hrough immense national sacrifice, the Chinese people made a major contribution to saving human civilization and safeguarding world peace."[4] Xi described the People's Liberation Army as a "heroic force that the party and the people can fully trust," and highlighted its mission of safeguarding China's “sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity".[4] Xi described China as never intimidated by bullies and stated that the "rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" was unstoppable.[5]

Xi stated, "Today, humanity is again faced with the choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, win-win or zero-sum" and that the Chinese people "firmly stand on the right side of history".[5]

Parade Groups

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Line-up of the parade groups

The following are the parade groups attended the parade marchpast:[6][7][8]

Flag echelon

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Marchpast column

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For the first time since the National Day Parade of 1959, battalions of the parade march past column carried colours at the head of their formations, with 8 of the battalions carrying them.

In order of appearance:

Mobile column

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In order of appearance:

Flypast column

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In order of appearance:

Music setting

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The music is conducted by the Central Military Band of PLA, with the music setting below:

Session Songs
Prelude Along the Songhua River, On the Taihang Mount, Yellow River Cantata, Without the Communist Party, There Would Be No New China
Arrival of guests and flag raising March of Welcome, March of the Volunteers, Bugle of Appearance
Inspection Bugle of Inspection, Bugle of Salute, Military Anthem of the People's Liberation Army, Inspection March, The People's Army is Loyal to the Party, Three Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention, Song of a Strong Army, Rush to Glory, Please Inspect
Ground Marchpast Bugle of Marchpast, Marchpast March, March of the Steel Torrent, Naval March, Air Force March, March of Information Thunders, Invicible March, Logistics Support March, Rocket Force March
Flyby squad I Love the Motherland's Blue Skies, Victory March
End of Parade Ode to the Motherland

Reception

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The reception was held in 11:30 am BST, CCP general secretary Xi Jinping received guests from the party, government and military members, members from Beijing, veterans and their descendant, and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and the diaspora.[9]

Gala performance

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A gala performance was held in 8pm BST, the sequence of the performance is listed below:[10][11][unreliable source?]

Act Programme Songs & Dances
Prelude 1. Symphonic Poem "Remember the Mountains and Rivers"
Act 1: Rage, Yellow River 2. Dramatic scene "The Chinese Nation at the Most Critical Period" The Sungari River
3. Song-and-dance “The Blood-Stained Birch Forest”
4. Dance “Elegy (Shāng)”
5. Recitation & chorus “Roar, Yellow River”
Act 2: Red Star Over China 6. Poetic scene recitation “This Beam of Light” Ode to Yan'an
7. Song-and-dance “Yan’an! Yan’an!” Northern Shaanxi folk song “The East Is Red”
Shaanxi–Gansu–Ningxia folk song “Great Military–Civilian Production” (melody, excerpt)
Song “Anti-Japanese Military and Political University Anthem”
Shaanxi–Gansu–Ningxia folk song “A Tower Ten-Thousand-Zhang High Rises from the Plain”
8. Dramatic scene “Cave Dwellings and Trenches” Children's rhyme “Big Red Dates”
Northern Shaanxi folk song “Song of the Anti-Japanese Soldiers Setting Out”
Act 3: An Invincible Strength 9. Group dance & group song “Beacon Fires Everywhere” Song “Song of the Qiongya Independent Column”
“Guerrilla Song”
“Tunnel Warfare”
“Pluck My Beloved Rustic Pipa”
“Go to the Enemy’s Rear” (melody, excerpt)
10. Dramatic play “The Eternal Unit Number”
11. Men's group dance “Fight to the Bitter End” Song “On the Taihang Mountains”
Act 4: A Shared Dawn 12. Dance “Riding the Wind”
13. Situational singing “Immortal Melody” Song “The Little Path”
Song “Red River Valley”
Song "Ah, Friends, Goodbye"
14. Song “Medal of the Nameless”
Act 5: Justice Everlasting 15. Dialogic scene “As You Wish” “I Love You, China” (melody, excerpt)
16. Ceremonial guard performance “Guarding Justice” “March of the Steel Torrent” (melody, excerpt)
17. Lead singing & chorus “Unstoppable”
Epilogue 18. Song-and-dance “Shared Destiny”

Invited guests and dignitaries

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General Secretary Xi Jinping of China, General Secretary Kim Jong Un of North Korea and President Vladimir Putin of Russia

According to the Chinese assistant foreign minister Hong Lei, a total of 26 world leaders attended the parade.[12] The following leaders and dignitaries attended the parade:

China

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Guests from Taiwan

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International

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Heads of state and government

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Parliament speakers and deputy prime ministers

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High-level representatives

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International organizations

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Former politicians

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Human lifespan hot mic

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A hot mic incident occurred as the leaders are walking on their way up to Tiananmen Gate, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping discussed organ transplants and "immortality". This conversation is caught recorded by China Central Television's public broadcast. During the conversation, Putin spoke about biotechnology and "human organs will continue to be transplanted, and people will became younger and younger". Xi responded Putin, talking about how people predicted that life expectancy can reach up to 150 years and how 70 years old still is quite young compared to the past.[38][39][40] At the press conference during the evening, Putin clarified to Russian media that he and Xi did discuss about the topic of human lifespan.[41]

Inter Korean meeting

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While waiting to watch the parade at the Tiananmen Gate Tower, South Korean National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and both figures shook hands while sharing a brief talk. According to Woo's entourage, Woo said "We met again after 7 years" (refers to 2018 inter-Korean summit) and Kim replied with "yes" without making other responses.[42] Woo also met with Putin and Putin asked Woo if there is any message he can relay to Kim, with Woo responded that it is important to build peace in the Korean Peninsula despite difficulties.[42]

Reactions

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Japan

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As reported in Kyodo News, Japan had urged European and Asian leaders to not attend the parade, citing that the event excessively exhibits anti-Japanese sentiment and seeks China's interpretation of the war to spread.[43] The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in return lodged a protest against Japan.[44] Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa declined to comment on whether Japan had called on any nations not to attend.[45] Speculations against Japan's diplomacy pressure raised when a Victory Day event hosted by the Chinese Consulate to Australia in Australian Parliament House was forced to change the venue, however, informants from the Australian government dismissed the claim.[46]

Kiichirō Hatoyama of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan expresses his opposition towards his father's attendance in the parade while chairman Yuichiro Tamaki similarly expressed his opposition towards Yukio's attendance and said that facing history seriously and being used by a foreign power are "two different things".[47]

Taiwan

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In Taiwan, the Mainland Affairs Council imposed a ban on specific groups of persons to attend the parade, and called for members of public to refrain from the parade, any actions regarding to "collaboration with Mainland authorities" will face heavy fines, stripping of pension and honors.[48]

Taiwan criticized the parade celebrations in China as historical revisionism, stating that the CCP attempted to steal credit for leading the fight during the war and pointing out that most of the combat forces were made up from the forces of the Republic of China.[49][50] China replied stating that Taiwan's criticism was "blaspheming" those who died on behalf of "the entire Chinese nation".[50] China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian went on to said that Taiwan "should not and cannot be absent from the relevant commemoration activities" and dismiss the attempt by Taiwan as "despicable acts that betrays history and the nation".[50] The Mainland Affairs Council of Taiwan criticized the parade's cost, with deputy minister Shen Yu-chung stating that China was willing to spend NT$150 billion on the event while neglecting its domestic economic, labor, and social issues.[51] Shen also said that the commemoration in China is a great irony considering how China's actions speaks equivalently to fascism masquerading as nationalism.[52]

Kuomintang chairman Eric Chu states that cross-straits visits must comply with the laws passed after hearing that former chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu would attend the military parade.[53] Chu also criticized the CCP's views of the wartime leadership and blasted against the DPP distorted history to Japanese terms.[54]

Russia and Ukraine

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As the parade occurred, Russia had fired more than 500 drones and two dozen missiles at Ukraine overnight, targeting mostly western and central Ukraine and wounding at least five people. Later that day, Putin said that his country is willing to fight to achieve all its objectives if Ukraine does not agree to a peace deal while Trump had persuaded Putin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.[55][56][57]

European Union

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High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas states that the presence of Russian, North Korean and Iran (CRINK) leaders at the military parade represents a direct effort to challenge the rules-based international order by establishing an anti-Western coalition.[58] Kallas even doubted that Russia and China "truly defeats fascism" in World War II.[59] Spokesperson Guo Jiakun then delivered China's reaction, condemning Kallas' statements as full of ideological bias without historical common sense, disrespectful, and blatantly stoke confrontation.[60]

Other

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NBC News described the domestic public enthusiasm for the parade as "palpable".[4] Trends related to the parade included military themed haircuts.[61]

On his social media platform Truth Social, President of the United States Donald Trump stated, "Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against the United States of America". Trump also reaffirmed his "very good relationship" with Xi Jinping and he did not see the military parade event as a "challenge to the United States".[62] He also questioned whether Xi recognizes the "massive amount of support and blood" the United States has given to defend China's freedom.[63]

See also

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References

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