Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his spouse Anna Hakobyan attended the ceremonial World War II Victory Day parade in China’s capital Beijing, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
The parade was attended by heads of state from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tianjin and other foreign leaders. The high-ranking guests were welcomed by President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan. President Xi delivered a speech during the ceremony, pledging China’s commitment to peaceful development in a world still fraught with turbulence and uncertainties. As part of the festivities, Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan hosted an official reception in honor of the foreign leaders and their spouses.
China held the massive military parade in central Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of its victory in World War II. Towering structures shaped like the Great Wall stood in Tiananmen Square, symbolizing the Chinese nation’s courage and solidarity in resisting foreign aggression. President Xi oversaw the parade and reviewed the troops, flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, along with more than 20 other foreign leaders, including Armenia’s Pashinyan.
The parade involved 10,000 military personnel and hundreds of pieces of military hardware. Helicopters flew over Tiananmen Square carrying banners that read “Justice Prevails,” “Peace Prevails,” and “The People Prevail.” Troops marched in tight, powerful formations, their faces lit with confidence and pride, while columns of new tanks, artillery, and other military equipment rumbled through the square.
China unveiled its land-, sea-, and air-based strategic forces—the nuclear triad—for the first time in the parade. The triad included the Jinglei-1 air-based long-range missile, JuLang-3 submarine-launched intercontinental missile, Dongfeng-61 land-based intercontinental missile, and a new type of Dongfeng-31 land-based intercontinental missile. Also on display were laser weapons, nuclear ballistic missiles, and giant underwater drones. President Xi declared that China was “unstoppable” and would “never be intimidated” by bullies.
Prime Minister Pashinyan was among over 25 foreign heads of state or government who attended the 70-minute procession across Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. The event was widely regarded as an unprecedented show of solidarity, with Putin and Kim joining Xi at the event. U.S. President Donald Trump reacted scathingly, saying that the three strongmen “conspire against the United States of America.”
The parade followed the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Tianjin earlier in the week, which Pashinyan also attended. On the eve of the summit, he held talks with Xi Jinping. In a joint statement, the two leaders formally upgraded Chinese-Armenian relations to a “strategic partnership,” committing to deepen bilateral ties in areas including trade. China is already Armenia’s second-largest trading partner after Russia, with bilateral trade reaching almost $1.2 billion in the first half of this year, according to Armenian government data. Meeting with Xi, Pashinyan also reaffirmed Armenia’s desire to join the SCO, a China-led grouping of 10 Eurasian states including Russia.
The parade commemorated the 80th anniversary of the surrender of imperial Japan, which marked the end of World War II. It was both a showcase of China’s military power and a symbolic demonstration of international solidarity, bringing together 26 heads of state including Putin, Kim, and Pashinyan, as the world reflected on the enduring legacy and lessons of WWII.
