Reuters: Defying West, China's Xi gathers “Axis of Upheaval” at military parade

One of China military parades.
Photo: Xinhua

Chinese President Xi Jinping will be flanked by leaders of some of the world's most heavily sanctioned nations – Russia, North Korea, Iran and Myanmar – at a military parade next week in Beijing, in a show of solidarity against the West, Reuters writes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong-Un will attend "Victory Day" parade on September 3 marking the end of World War Two after Japan's formal surrender – the first time they have appeared in public alongside Xi.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is also expected to be on the dais as tens of thousands of troops march through the Chinese capital, completing a quartet that Western political and economic analysts have described as the “Axis of Upheaval”.

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who rarely travels abroad, will also attend, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

Almost no Western leaders will be among the 26 foreign heads of state or government attending the parade, which political analysts say will demonstrate Xi's influence over nations intent on reshaping the Western-led global order.

"When Xi was just a regional leader, he looked up to Putin, and saw the kind of leader he could learn from – and now he is a global leader. Having Kim alongside him, as well, highlights how Xi is now also a global leader," said Alfred Wu, Associate Professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

A loose coalition of states bent on reshaping the Western-led global order, the "Axis of Upheaval" has sought to undermine U.S. interests, whether over Taiwan or by blocking shipping lanes, and sought to undermine Western sanctions by providing economic lifelines to each other, the analysts say.

The only Western heads of state or government attending the events in Beijing are Robert Fico, the prime minister of European Union member state Slovakia, and Aleksander Vucic, the president of Serbia.

Other leaders attending what will be one of China's largest parades in years include Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko and South Korea's National Assembly Speaker, Woo Won-shik, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei told a press conference.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will attend the parade, Hong said. He did not mention any guests from Italy or Germany, the two other Axis Powers during World War Two.

read more in our Telegram-channel https://t.me/The_International_Affairs