Beijing Military Parade: Targeting the U.S. or Selling Weapons?

Beijing’s September 3rd military parade (Video Screenshot)

[People News] At Beijing’s military parade, the three authoritarian leaders of the CCP, Russia, and North Korea gathered together—a first since Mao Zedong, Nikita Khrushchev, and Kim Il-sung stood on Tiananmen’s reviewing stand during the 1959 parade. The atmosphere of this year’s event highlighted an anti-U.S., anti-Western alignment, evoking memories of the Cold War 66 years ago.

Alexander Neill, a fellow at the Pacific Forum think tank, said that the CCP’s top-down system and massive resources allow it to roll out new weapons faster than many countries and produce them in large quantities, thereby seeking to suppress rivals. However, he questioned how well the Chinese military can actually integrate these systems.

Michael Raska, assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and an expert on military transformation, remarked: “They can showcase these flashy, advanced combat systems, but the real question is whether they have the organizational flexibility to use them as intended.”

He pointed out that China’s military is enormous but lacks combat experience, having not fought a major war in decades. Effective deployment of these weapons, therefore, is no easy task.

Media analyst Wang Jizhou commented that the parade weapons were all designed to counter U.S. systems, essentially copied, imitated, and patched together from American models.

Neill noted that China has long regarded missile and rocket force development as the core of its deterrence strategy, as well as a way to counter U.S. naval dominance.

This year’s parade showcased a wide variety of unmanned equipment. The UAV displays clearly indicated the direction of China’s military strategy—not only strengthening conventional forces, but even attempting to replace traditional structures.

Raska observed that China has clearly drawn lessons from the war in Ukraine, where drones are used relentlessly to exhaust enemy defenses by continuously sending them into battle.

The September 3 parade revealed Beijing’s ambition to catch up with the U.S. in military technology, but experts maintain that the U.S. still holds the advantage in actual combat effectiveness.

Raska said the U.S. military benefits from a “bottom-up” culture, which empowers frontline units to make autonomous decisions and adapt strategies in response to changing battlefield conditions—making them far more agile.

In contrast, China operates under a rigid “top-down” system: “They may have dazzling equipment and systems, but without orders from above, they might not even lift a finger.”

He added that Beijing assumes technology alone will create deterrence sufficient to intimidate the U.S., “but in practice, there are signs they are not nearly as capable as they claim.”

For example, last month during a standoff with the Philippine Coast Guard, a Chinese naval vessel accidentally rammed its own coast guard ship—evidence that the PLA still has a long way to go in achieving smooth coordination.

Since Xi Jinping came to power, he has repeatedly purged the military, with many senior officers investigated or disappearing mysteriously. This year’s parade commander was also unusual. The CCP broke with precedent by not announcing the commander beforehand; only once the parade began was the role revealed. Lieutenant General Han Shengyan, commander of the Central Theater Command Air Force, served as chief commander, replacing General Wang Qiang, former Northern Theater commander, who is rumored to be in trouble.

Xi’s repeated purges show his lack of trust in the military, and it remains uncertain how long the crackdown will continue. Commentators noted that Xi appeared displeased during the parade inspection, showing visible disdain toward the troops—reflecting his adversarial attitude toward the armed forces.

Foreign analysts believe the parade resembled more of a weapons sales exhibition than a military review. Neill pointed out that the CCP invited leaders from over 20 countries, turning the display of tanks and weapons into a giant “sales pitch” for potential buyers.

Some attending countries, such as Myanmar, have already been making large purchases of Chinese arms. Raska added that courting new customers and expanding orders is one way for Beijing to grow its global influence. Notably, standing prominently at Xi Jinping’s side in the front row were his biggest clients—Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un.