China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will participate in Victory Day parades in Russia and Belarus on May 9 to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat in World War II. Chinese honour guard units will take part in military parades in Moscow and Minsk at the invitation of the Russian and Belarusian defence ministries, according to Beijing’s Ministry of Defence.
The celebrations commemorate the Soviet Union’s victory over the Nazis in 1945 at a cost of 27 million Soviet lives. The parade is Russia’s most important national holiday, representing the end of the Great Patriotic War.
Video clips on Chinese social media in recent days captured PLA soldiers training in both host cities. Although China has sent honour guards to Russian events before, this is its first time participating in Belarus’s Victory Day parade.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will accompany Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Red Square to celebrate. Both presidents are also set to sit down for a discussion that is centered on strategic cooperation and world affairs. Brazillian, Serbian, and Slovak leaders are set to join the ceremony.
The display of unity between Beijing, Moscow, and Minsk comes amid heightened global tensions. The United States recently withdrew from mediation efforts in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and continues to clash with China in an ongoing trade dispute.
In the meantime, news of Chinese nationals who were arrested fighting on the side of Russian troops in Ukraine has stirred interest. Two Chinese fighters were allegedly arrested last month, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said, but China characterized the reports as “groundless.”
Experts indicate the grand parade is a symbolic reaction to what Russia and China perceive as Western efforts to remake post-war history through sanctions and economic coercion.
