Power parades reflect Xi, Putin and Trump's battle for global influence

A Chinese military band takes part in a parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2025. [AFP] Parades, whether military or civilian, serve three main purposes. First, they provide socio-political value by offering free entertainment to the public. People enjoy watching new security gadgets, uniformed personnel marching in unison, and appearances by various dignitaries. Second, parades serve to reassure citizens of their nation's security. Third, they signal to the rest of the world that a country is not weak, that it can defend itself and strike back if necessary. In 2025, each of the three leading world powers, the Russians, the Americans, and the Chinese, held military parades to showcase their strength. Russia held its parade on May 9, 2025, marking 80 years since the end of World War II. This occurred despite the ongoing Nato-influenced war in Ukraine, which began in April 2022 as what Russia called a "special military operation." Ukraine, heavily supported by Nato, continues to resist, even as it suffers extensive destruction. From Moscow's perspective, the war is preemptive-a matter of self-defense against what it views as Nato's expansion into its security zone. The parade was used to display Russia's latest military arsenal and allowed President Vladimir Putin to issue a warning to anti-Russian war hawks and to reaffirm Russia's security position. Trump's spectacle The United States held its parade on June 14, 2025. Unlike Russia's, it did not commemorate a war victory. The last similar event was the 1991 National Victory Celebration after the Gulf War. The 2025 parade marked the US Army's 250th anniversary, coinciding with former President Donald Trump's birthday. Soldiers marched, jets flew over, and tanks rolled down Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. Though entertaining and morale-boosting, Senator Adam Schiff criticised it as "a dictator-style military parade." Trump, known for seeking attention, often boasts that "everybody's talking about the USA." His attempts to dictate terms globally, including tariff wars and demands about alliances, have damaged America's image. Despite supporting Israel's aggressive stance against Palestinians and taking a confrontational approach with nations like Iran and Venezuela, Trump believes he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. Domestically, Trump has deployed the National Guard in Washington and suggested similar action in cities, such as Chicago and New York-often those with large Black populations. He has undermined institutions, interfered with the Federal Reserve, and weakened agencies, such as USAID and Voice of America. He proposed scrapping the 14th Amendment, which defines citizenship. Trump refuses to acknowledge that the world has changed since the unipolar moment after the Cold War, when the US tried to export Americanism. That triumphalism eventually provoked global backlash, including Osama bin Laden's international terrorism, which disrupted traditional conceptions of security. Chinese ascent One country that capitalised on these shifts was China. Under Xi Jinping, in power since 2013, China aims to surpass all rivals. Xi insists the era of US hegemonic dominance is over and urges resistance to "hegemonies and power politics." Xi's parade in Beijing's Tiananmen Square projected China's emergence as a dominant power. While Trump's parade served his ego and Putin's was for wartime morale, Xi's parade showcased rising global influence. Unlike Deng Xiaoping before him, Xi has no intention of hiding China's growing power. Instead, he is methodical in projecting all forms of influence, both domestic and international. Domestically, Xi sees himself as greater than both Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, whose ideologies he claims to embody. He has violated Deng's governance reforms, which limited presidents to 10 years in office. Now in his twelfth year, Xi shows no sign of stepping down. Xi's speeches and writings on virtually every topic have become required reading and the primary source of reference for all Chinese workers. Even religious institutions are brought under the control of the Communist Party, whether they are Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or Taoist. For example, Xi's portraits reportedly replace images of the Virgin Mary and crosses in churches, while clergy are said to preach Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ideology. This tight control was on full display during the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party on October 22, 2022, when former President Hu Jintao was publicly removed, frog-marched out of the Assembly Hall, in an act widely seen as a symbolic demonstration of Xi's unchallenged power. However, it is Xi's power plays beyond China's borders that have drawn the most international interest. Modi moment Two almost simultaneous events illustrate this shift. The first was a summit held in Tianjin, near Beijing, attended by various world leaders not beholden to the United States, including those from Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, North Korea, Iran, India, and Russia. A photo showing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi smiling alongside Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping at the Tianjin summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) deeply upset Trump. Unable to persuade or pressure either India or China to stop buying Russian energy, Trump fumed, "Looks like we've lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China." What further infuriated him was the signing of roughly 20 bilateral deals between China and Russia, covering areas, such as energy, artificial intelligence, visa-free travel, and agriculture. The most significant of these agreements was a deal to build a Siberian pipeline through Mongolia, aimed at supplying 50 billion cubic metres of gas annually to China for 30 years. This pipeline would reduce both countries' dependence on other markets, particularly the United States. Putin described the deal as promoting "genuine multilateralism," while Xi saw it as part of the global resistance to "hegemonism and power politics." The final SCO joint statement condemned the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, while remaining silent on the war in Ukraine. The deals reached at Tianjin pale in comparison to the military parade in Beijing, which followed the summit and made other parades fade into insignificance. Although Narendra Modi skipped the parade, Xi Jinping watched it in the company of Vladimir Putin, North Korea's Kim Jong Un, and leaders from over 20 countries. The event showcased China's advancements and innovations in military technology and science, including weapons capable of traveling at supersonic and hypersonic speeds to any part of the world. Power shift In his address during the parade, Xi declared, "The Chinese nation is the great nation that is never intimidated by bullies ... the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is unstoppable." He further announced that this "unstoppable" nation would build a "world-class" military. The parade, along with Xi's bold statements, made Donald Trump defensive. He complained that Xi had failed to acknowledge America's role in defeating Japan in World War II. Trump declared, "We have the strongest military in the world, by far," and sent a message to Xi telling him to greet Putin and Kim "as you conspire against the United States of America." Xi responded by saying, "The US president does not lack a sense of humor," and added that the leaders who attended the summit had "expressed negative judgments about the current US administration." Three strongmen-Putin, Trump, and Xi-each mounted parades that reflected the global power struggle, while also serving to entertain and project strategic messaging. Putin is aware of Russia's standing: a military competitor, but not an economic one.Trump, leading the United States as the dominant power, envies Xi's domestic control and expanding global influence, but undermines his ambitions through inconsistent, provocative actions. Xi, representing a "rejuvenating" China with growing global clout, has arguably achieved more than Trump's vision of domestic unquestionability and international acceptance. Of the three, perhaps the most dangerous is Trump, because he fears losing power.Putin, trying to secure Russia's neighborhood through the "special operation" in Ukraine, seeks allies in India and China. Xi, aware of Graham Allison's concept of the Thucydides Trap, is determined to avoid it. Among the three, Xi appears most secure-at home and on the world stage.

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