BEIJING: Airport scanners at office entrances, road closures for large-scale midnight rehearsals, drones banned, guards stationed 24/7 on all overpasses: Beijing has effectively paralysed its urban core for a 70-minute military parade on Sept 3.
The "Victory Day" parade, marking the end of World War Two following Japan's formal surrender, will be a projection of China's growing military might amid deep-seated mistrust in the West, geopolitical uncertainty with the US and territorial rows with neighbouring countries.
The highly choreographed parade, one of China's largest in years, will unveil cutting-edge equipment such as fighter jets, missile defence systems and hypersonic weapons – the results of a long-running modernisation drive of the People's Liberation Army, which has lately been beset by corruption scandals and personnel purges.
On the day, President Xi Jinping will survey tens of thousands of troops at Tiananmen Square alongside several foreign dignitaries, including guest of honour Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Most Western leaders are expected to shun the parade, making it a major show of diplomatic solidarity between China, Russia and the Global South.
Ahead of the parade, Beijing has also mounted a campaign to emphasise the "correct view" of World War Two history, which stresses that China and Soviet Russia played a pivotal role in fighting fascist forces in the Asian and European theatres.
"Putin and Xi take commemoration of the war so seriously because it shows that … Russia and China can take pride in their history and that Western attempts to tarnish their past … will fail," said Joseph Torigian, associate professor at American University and an expert in Sino-Soviet history.
"World War Two is a foundational moment in the civilisational agendas that Putin and Xi are pursuing … Both men believe they are driving changes unseen in a century."
A People's Daily commentary this week claimed China's contribution to fighting Japan was "selectively ignored and underestimated by some", adding the Communist Party's wartime efforts were "deliberately belittled and vilified".
