Global Times: 26 foreign leaders to attend China's V-Day commemorations

BEIJING, Aug. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, 26 foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), will attend China's V-Day commemorations in Beijing, Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei announced on Thursday.

China will stage a massive military parade on September 3 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Foreign leaders invited to attend the commemorations include Putin, Kim, Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Miguel Diaz-Canel, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and Cuban president, and Min Aung Hlaing, acting president of Myanmar, according to Xinhua.

At the invitation of the Chinese government, heads of parliaments, deputy prime ministers and high-level representatives from various countries, heads of international organizations, and former political dignitaries will attend the V-Day commemorations.

Experts said the fact that almost all leaders from China's neighboring countries are attending the commemorations reflects both the effectiveness of Beijing's neighborhood diplomacy and their recognition of China's efforts to promote unity in maintaining peace.

Jointly safeguarding peace

When asked what message do China and Russia hope to convey with President Putin's attendance at the commemorative events, Hong said at a Thursday conference that 80 years ago, China and the Soviet Union, as the main anti-fascism battlefields in Asia and Europe, stood as the backbone in the fight against militarism and fascism, making enormous national sacrifices.

Putin's visit to China to attend the commemorative events further highlights the high-level China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era, and demonstrates the two countries' unity and determination in jointly safeguarding the victory of World War II, said Hong.

Relations between Russia and China are currently a priority topic for Moscow, and therefore the upcoming visit of Putin to China will be unprecedented. This was announced on August 27 by Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, Russia's Izvestia reported.

"Putin's absolutely unprecedented visit to China will take place, for which preparations are actively underway," Peskov stressed.

In response to a question on China's view on the DPRK leader's visit, Hong said China and the DPRK are traditional friendly neighbors connected by mountains and rivers. We welcome General Secretary Kim Jong-un to attend the commemoration in China, Hong said.

This year is the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. It also marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Korea. During the arduous years of war, the peoples of China and the DPRK extended each other support and together fought against Japanese aggression, making important contributions to the World Anti-Fascist War and the just cause of humanity, Hong said.

The list of foreign leaders in attendance has drawn attention from some international media. The BBC published an article on Thursday saying that "The Indonesia president and Malaysian prime minister will be there, which is further proof of Beijing's concerted efforts to ramp up ties with neighboring South East Asia."

Notably, almost all leaders from China's neighboring countries are attending the commemorations, underscoring the effectiveness of China's long-standing neighborhood diplomacy. The gathering also reflects Beijing's effort to highlight peace and future development, Lü Xiang, research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

Lü said commemorating the war is not about perpetuating confrontation, but about uniting nations to jointly foster an environment of peace and development - which is the core direction of China's diplomacy.

During the conference, Hong said safeguarding historical truth and upholding the correct view of history concerns human conscience, international justice, and world peace, in response to a media inquiry that Japan has been paying close attention to China's V-Day commemorations, with some voices suggesting that China is using historical issues to pressure Japan and interfere with Japan's narrative of World War II, and in recent years, certain forces in Japan have been seeking to loosen military restrictions, downplay or even distort the history of aggression, and attempt to shape a perception that "Japan was a victim of the war."

Whether Japan can correctly understand and address history is the litmus test of whether it will uphold conscience and stay committed to peaceful development, Hong said.

Peaceful signals

Preparations for China's V-Day military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War are basically complete, Wu Zeke, deputy director of the Leading Group Office of Military Parade and a senior officer of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, said at the conference.

In response to questions that what kind of message China hopes to convey to the international community as some analysts believe the military parade and other commemorative events on September 3 are not only of symbolic significance but also serve as an opportunity for China to showcase its growing strength, Hong said the parade is meant to demonstrate China's firm determination to follow the path of peaceful development, its strong will to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and its powerful capability to defend world peace.

Hong stressed that when it comes to peace and security, China has the best record among major powers. Since the founding of the People's Republic, China has never provoked a war, never occupied an inch of another country's territory, and never waged a proxy war. It is the only major country to have enshrined the path of peaceful development in its Constitution.

SOURCE Global Times