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You can watch a livestream of the military parade here.
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Watch the Chinese military parade here
By Catherine Naylor
11.13am
Dan Andrews shakes hands with Xi on red carpet
By Paul Dyer
Former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has been spotted on the red carpet in Beijing, shaking hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Footage broadcast live by Chinese state media outlet CGTN showed Andrews greeted by Xi and China’s first lady, Peng Liyuan, ahead of the major Chinese military parade at Tiananmen Square to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
A smiling Andrews can be seen pausing briefly to exchange pleasantries with the Chinese leader.
Shortly after, Xi greeted Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
Andrews and former NSW premier Bob Carr were invited as guests. Carr previously confirmed to this masthead that he was attending and paying for his own travel. Andrews’ office did not respond when contacted last week.
Chinese-language media last week claimed both the former Labor premiers would attend.
11.05am
Why I’m attending today’s parade: Bob Carr
By Catherine Naylor
Former foreign affairs minister and NSW premier Bob Carr accepted an invitation to attend today’s parade. Earlier this week, he wrote an opinion piece for this masthead on why he decided to do so.
Bob Carr said he would attend the parade.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
“Right-wing commentators criticise me for going because Russian President Vladimir Putin will be in attendance. This comes from the same Trump-friendly media that found acceptable Donald Trump welcoming Putin onto American soil, even as Putin intensified his warfare against Ukraine. This was a diplomatic triumph beyond Kremlin fantasies.
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Why would China exclude Putin from a celebration of the end of the war both countries had bled in more than any others?
When the Trump administration in 2017 decided to categorise China as an adversary instead of a competitor, it might have known it would be creating conditions for China-Russia rapport that, up to that time, had been unlikely, given their rivalry in Central Asia and their history of border tensions.
What attracts me to this celebration more than a glimpse of the Russian leader in the viewing stand is the attendance of big delegations from nine countries in South-East Asia including Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Each appears to have reached the pragmatic view that they can deal with China as a great power as they dealt over hundreds of years with Imperial China.
Attending with former prime ministers of New Zealand Helen Clark and John Key provides me another opportunity to share views about how we accommodate a reality none of us has the power to stop anyway: China’s emergence as a great power – and the need to avoid conflict between it and the US.”
11.01am
Military analysts in US will be watching this carefully
By Lisa Visentin
The military parade is a forensically choreographed event that will be closely watched by defence officials and analysts in Washington and other Western capitals for Beijing’s display of its new weapons systems and technology.
The parade is expected to include fighter jets, hypersonic missiles and new drones. Some 10,000 troops are expected to march in the parade in Tiananmen Square.
A military band performs before the start of the military parade on Wednesday.Credit: Getty Images
10.59am
How Xi’s military purge will affect the guest list
Much attention will be on which Chinese officials present at the parade – and those who aren’t – as Xi’s military purges continue.
One notable absence could be Politburo member He Weidong, a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, who hasn’t been seen at public events for months. While no official reason has been given, media reports suggest he may be the most senior figure yet caught in China’s widening military corruption probe.
Xi Jinpin and some of the Chinese officials who have disappeared from public view lately. From the top down - He Weidong, Li Shangfu (hatted), Liu Jianchao, Qin Gang and Wei Fenghe (bottom left corner).Credit: Montage by Matt Davidson
Xi has ousted almost a fifth of the generals whom he personally appointed as leader, something his predecessors never did, according to a Bloomberg News analysis.
Observers will be watching closely for signs of who still has his trust and what the military shake-up means as he approaches a possible fourth term in 2027.
Bloomberg
10.50am
New weapons to feature in parade
China is tipped to showcase its latest anti-ship missiles, combat drones and nuclear-capable ballistic missiles this morning at a parade in Beijing to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
An honour guard contingent conduct drills last month to prepare for the military parade.Credit: AP
Satellite imagery of the staging ground before the parade shows armoured vehicles, air defence systems, artillery pieces – including rocket launchers – and cruise missiles.
The new weapons incorporate cutting-edge technology such as hypersonic systems and are developed with the aim to suppress the US Navy in the Western Pacific, according to Tianran Xu, a senior analyst for the Open Nuclear Network security think tank.
Bloomberg
10.47am
Kim and Putin join Xi for China’s largest ever military parade
By Lisa Visentin
Good morning, I’m North Asia Correspondent Lisa Visentin, and you can follow our live coverage here of China’s largest every military parade, which will kick off in about 15 minutes in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will preside over the parade – a showcase of China’s cutting-edge weapons systems and strengthening diplomatic reach that is designed to cement the country’s status as the leading challenger to US-led global order.
Xi will be joined by Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un – the first time the three men have appeared in public together in a display of growing goodwill between the nations that some analysts have dubbed an “axis of autocracy”.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, centre, is greeted by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on his arrival at a train station in Beijing.Credit: AP
The parade is being held to mark 80 years since Japan’s defeat in World War II, and seeks to recast China’s role as a historically important player in ending fascism, and reclaim what China sees as its rightful place as an inheritor of the post world-war international system.
Beijing’s official message is that the parade is a demonstration of China’s commitment to enduring worldwide peace.
But with Putin and Kim’s attendance, China has also ushered into the global spotlight the man who has brought the worst war to Europe since the armistice in 1945, and his aiding abettor in North Korea’s regime.
More than two dozen world leaders will attend the parade, including Iran’s leader Masoud Pezeshkian. Most western leaders have shunned the event, except for the leaders of Serbia and Slovakia.
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