Beijing releases VIP guest list for Victory Day parade
On Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs unveiled the list of foreign heads of state and government who will attend Beijing’s Victory Day parade.
Some context: The military parade – taking place on September 3 – will commemorate the end of World War II.
- Xi Jinping will inspect the parade at Tiananmen Square and deliver a speech.
This is interesting: The guest list is dominated with attendees from the Global South, while participation from Western countries has markedly declined compared with a decade ago.
- Malaysia, North Korea, Indonesia, Nepal, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Iran are sending heads of state or government for the first time.
- No senior officials from major Western countries are attending this year, whereas ten years ago Australia, France, Italy, and the Netherlands sent ministers, and New Zealand and the UK sent high-level envoys.
Get smart: These optics underline a trend that has been underway for years – namely, that China's relations with the West are on the decline, while its ties with the Global South are on the upswing.
All eyes on Xi: Will the big man use his Victory Day speech to try and mend fences with the West? Or will he instead emphasize the growing areas of contestation?