BEIJING — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin flanked Xi Jinping at a massive parade of military might in Beijing yesterday, capping a week of diplomatic grandstanding by the Chinese president and his allies against the West.

In unprecedented scenes, Xi shook hands with both leaders and chatted with the pair as they walked down a red carpet by Tiananmen Square, with Putin to Xi’s right and Kim to his left.

The event, ostensibly to mark 80 years since the end of World War II, was a chance for Xi to showcase China’s military prowess and bring together friendly leaders to send a message to the rest of the world.

Kicking off the parade, Xi warned the world was still “faced with a choice of peace or war”, but said China was “unstoppable”.China’s enormous new intercontinental DF-5C ballistic missile, with a range of 20,000 kilometres (12,425 miles), counted prominently among the hardware on display.

The heavily choreographed event drew an acidic response from President Donald Trump, who accused the three leaders of plotting against the United States.

“Give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America,” he wrote on Truth Social.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief denounced the presence of the Russian and North Korean leaders alongside Xi as “a direct challenge to the international system built on rules”.

“A new global order is in the making,” Kaja Kallas told journalists in Brussels.

Putin vowed to carry on the war in Ukraine if a peace deal could not be reached, with Trump’s diplomatic initiatives appearing to have stalled.

“Let’s see how the situation develops. If not, then we will have to resolve all our tasks militarily,” Putin told reporters in Beijing.