- 6 hours ago
- From the section China
China has held a lavish parade in Beijing to mark the defeat of Japan in World War Two, showcasing its military might on an unprecedented scale.
President Xi Jinping in his opening speech paid tribute to "the Chinese people who unwaveringly fought hard and defeated aggression" from Japan.
He also said the People's Liberation Army would be reduced by 300,000 personnel, but gave no timeframe.
China's growing military power is being keenly watched amid regional tensions.
China has several territorial disputes with neighbours in the South China Sea, as well as with Japan in the East China Sea.
Ahead of the parade, the US said five Chinese ships had been spotted in the Bering Sea off Alaska for the first time.
China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the world's largest military, with 2.3 million members. China also has the second biggest defence budget after the US.
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![Soldiers of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) march at the beginning of the military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing, China, 3 September 2015](https://img1.daumcdn.net/relay/cafe/original/?fname=http%3A%2F%2Fichef-1.bbci.co.uk%2Fnews%2F624%2Fcpsprodpb%2FBC2D%2Fproduction%2F_85337184_028831154-1.jpg)
- BBC China Editor Carrie Gracie tweets from the parade
- Just what is China trying to prove?- An image of China that shuns creativity in favour of uniformity and obedience
- Preparing for a parade - Trained monkeys and banned pigeons were part of the prep
- The military wares China wants to boast about - IISS China specialist Alexander Neill gives his views
- The military parade posts China censored
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More than 30 foreign government officials and heads of state including Russia's President Vladimir Putin and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon attended the event.
But many Western leaders and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have stayed away.
Some 12,000 troops and 200 aircraft, as well as tanks and missiles, were on display in Tiananmen Square, including the anti-ship "carrier killer" missile Dongfeng-21D.
Most of the war machinery on display was being shown to the general public for the first time, according to state media.
Mr Xi, also the commander of the armed forces, was centre stage at the parade's proceedings.
![Chinese President Xi Jinping stands in a car on his way to review the army, at the beginning of the military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing, China, 3 September 2015](https://img1.daumcdn.net/relay/cafe/original/?fname=http%3A%2F%2Fichef-1.bbci.co.uk%2Fnews%2F624%2Fcpsprodpb%2F1586D%2Fproduction%2F_85337188_028831178-1.jpg)
![Military helicopters form the number](https://img1.daumcdn.net/relay/cafe/original/?fname=http%3A%2F%2Fichef.bbci.co.uk%2Fnews%2F624%2Fcpsprodpb%2F71F5%2Fproduction%2F_85337192_028831335-1.jpg)
![Military vehicles carrying shore-to-ship missiles drive past the Tiananmen Gate during a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing, China, 3 September 2015](https://img1.daumcdn.net/relay/cafe/original/?fname=http%3A%2F%2Fichef.bbci.co.uk%2Fnews%2F624%2Fcpsprodpb%2F1748D%2Fproduction%2F_85337359_028831871-1.jpg)
John Sudworth, BBC News, Beijing: "We are strong now"
Despite the repeated assurances from China that the message of today was one of peace, the crowd seemed to see a different symbolism in the V-shaped lines of jets and bombers.
"We have the ability to announce to the world that we are a big country, we are a great country," one onlooker told me. "It is the proper time to show to the world that we are strong now," a young woman agreed.
China believes that its suffering and sacrifice during World War Two have been largely forgotten.
But 70 years on there are questions over whether the Communist Party is basking in reflected glory - after all it was the Nationalists who did most of the fighting and dying - and whether a contribution to world peace is really best marked by such an extraordinary display of military might.
'China will not seek expansion'
Mr Xi made the troop reduction announcement in a speech where he reassured the global community that "China will remain committed to peaceful development".
"No matter how strong it becomes, China will never seek hegemony or expansion. It will never inflict its past suffering on any nation," he said.
![Graphic: China-US military balance](https://img1.daumcdn.net/relay/cafe/original/?fname=http%3A%2F%2Fichef-1.bbci.co.uk%2Fnews%2F624%2Fcpsprodpb%2F71F4%2Fproduction%2F_85327192_china_us_military_balance_624.png)
BBC China Editor Carrie Gracie, who was at the parade, says the army cuts will not mean a weaker China.
It is also upgrading its naval and air forces, she says, so does not need as many boots on the ground to project its power around the world.
Alexander Neill from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in Singapore, says the move shows China's "determination to have a modern fighting force".
![Military band sing and salute at the Tiananmen Square at the beginning of the military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing, China, 3 September 2015.](https://img1.daumcdn.net/relay/cafe/original/?fname=http%3A%2F%2Fichef-1.bbci.co.uk%2Fnews%2F624%2Fcpsprodpb%2F23D5%2Fproduction%2F_85337190_028831153-1.jpg)
![Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd R) talks to former President Jiang Zemin (R) next to Russia's President Vladimir Putin (2nd L) and South Korea's President Park Geun-hye on the Tiananmen Gate, at the beginning of the military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing, China, 3 September 2015](https://img1.daumcdn.net/relay/cafe/original/?fname=http%3A%2F%2Fichef.bbci.co.uk%2Fnews%2F624%2Fcpsprodpb%2F10A4D%2Fproduction%2F_85337186_028831090-1.jpg)
![A picture released by Xinhua News Agency shows veterans saluting as they pass through Tiananmen Square during a military parade marking the 70th Anniversary of the Victory of Chinese People's Resistance against Japanese Aggression and World Anti-Fascist War in Beijing, China, 3 September 2015.](https://img1.daumcdn.net/relay/cafe/original/?fname=http%3A%2F%2Fichef.bbci.co.uk%2Fnews%2F624%2Fcpsprodpb%2F14D7D%2Fproduction%2F_85337358_028831779-1.jpg)
![Military aircraft perform during the military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing, China, 3 September 2015](https://img1.daumcdn.net/relay/cafe/original/?fname=http%3A%2F%2Fichef-1.bbci.co.uk%2Fnews%2F624%2Fcpsprodpb%2F3FF5%2Fproduction%2F_85337361_028831744-1.jpg)
![People watch military helicopters on a pedestrian overpass outside the closed area during the military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing, China, 3 September 2015](https://img1.daumcdn.net/relay/cafe/original/?fname=http%3A%2F%2Fichef.bbci.co.uk%2Fnews%2F624%2Fcpsprodpb%2F8E15%2Fproduction%2F_85337363_028831700-1.jpg)
In the build-up to the event, state media have published commentaries reinforcing Chinese patriotism and views on historical events.
Entertainment shows were also suspended on television to make way for the coverage.
Beijing's normally smoggy skies were unusually blue, after factories were closed, barbecues banned and cars stopped from travelling to reduce pollution.
But concerns about China's growing military assertiveness and the tone of the parade meant many Western and Asian leaders stayed away from the event.
"During a period of strained relations between China and Japan, as well as increasing military tension in the Asia-Pacific region, some leaders are reluctant to be associated with what they may view as a nationalistic, anti-Japanese mass rally," says Mr Neill.
![Graphic: Top 15 military budgets](https://img1.daumcdn.net/relay/cafe/original/?fname=http%3A%2F%2Fichef-1.bbci.co.uk%2Fnews%2F624%2Fcpsprodpb%2F1052E%2Fproduction%2F_85326866_military_spending_inf624.png)
Japan launched a full-scale invasion of China in 1937 and, according to Beijing, eight years of fighting claimed 14 million Chinese lives.
China also claims that it is the "forgotten ally" and that its role in defeating Japan has been underplayed in the post-war narrative.
Nationalist forces led the fight against Japan in China. They were defeated by Mao Zedong's Communists who proclaimed a people's republic in 1949