Xi Presides Over Beijing WWII Parade as Putin and Kim Attend

President Xi Jinping presided over a massive military parade in Beijing on Wednesday marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, standing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as the Chinese armed forces rolled out advanced weapons systems and hundreds of aircraft before tens of thousands of spectators. State media and Chinese military officials said the display included intercontinental and submarine launched ballistic missiles, hypersonic and antiship weapons, new drones and counterdrone systems, and what they described as a completed land, sea and air nuclear deterrent shown publicly for the first time.

Xi opened the ceremony with a rostrum speech that warned humanity faced a choice between peace and war, and inspected troops from a parade vehicle as formations marched down Changan Avenue past Tiananmen Square. Chinese officials said the tightly choreographed event featured about 50,000 spectators, an aerial flypast of hundreds of aircraft and a staged release of 80,000 doves after an 80 gun salute. Much of the hardware on view was, officials said, being exhibited for the first time.

About two dozen foreign leaders...