(3 Sep 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Beijing, China – 3 September 2025
1. Various of parade in Tiananmen Square with military band playing
2. Chinese President Xi Jinping in vehicle
3. Various of helicopters flying over in formation, trailing Chinese Communist Party flags
4. Various of soldiers marching in formation
5. Various of militia women marching in formation
6. Various of tanks passing through
7. Various of armored vehicles passing through
8. Unmanned combat vessels being driven through
9. Various of military drones being driven through
10. Unmanned combat helicopters being driven through
11. Various of surface-to-air missile systems passing through
12. Submarine-launched intercontinental missiles JL-3 being driven through
13. Various of nuclear strategic missiles DF-5C passing through
14. Land-based intercontinental missile DF-31BJ passing through
15. Zoom out from intermediate-range ballistic missile DF-26D passing through
16. Various of military aircraft flying over
17. Wide of parade in Tiananmen Square with balloons in sky
STORYLINE:
China showcased its developing military might at a parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II on Wednesday.
The parade, which lasted about 90 minutes, exhibited missiles, fighter jets and other military hardware, some of it displayed publicly for the first time.
The event began with troops marching in rhythmic lockstep, their boots echoing off the pavement, to be reviewed by President Xi Jinping, who heads China’s military as chairman of the Central Military Commission.
Xi rode by the entire length of their formations along Beijing’s central Chang’an Avenue in a classic black limousine.
He stood up through the vehicle’s sunroof with four microphones lined in front of him and greeted flanks of personnel as he passed them and rows of armaments and military vehicles.
They shouted back mottos in unison such as “We serve the people.”
Notable selections of the weaponry on show included hypersonic missiles designed to take out ships at sea.
They are of particular concern to the U.S. Navy, which patrols the western Pacific from its 7th Fleet headquarters in Japan.
Underwater drones including the AJX002, a long, black, tube-shaped craft that looks like a narrow submarine with a rear propeller.
A new intercontinental ballistic missile, the DF-61, which could carry nuclear warheads to distant targets.
Fighter jets and bombers flew across the sky, some painting rows of different-colored exhaust in unison.
Helicopters flew in formation, one group of 26 spelling out the number “80” for the war’s anniversary year.
About two dozen foreign leaders watched the parade from an elevated point on the historic Tiananmen Gate, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Domestically, the commemoration of the anniversary is a way to show the progress made by China, which was a major front in the war where millions died as a result of Japan’s invasion.
The military parade was also a show of strength to boost support for the Communist Party and its leader, Xi, domestically and a way to portray itself as a global alternative to the American-dominated postwar era.
The marching formations from the People’s Liberation Army ranged from traditional army and navy units to new ones such as a cyberspace unit that oversees information security.
AP video shot by Olivia Zhang
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