Commentary: Look beyond the spectacle of China’s WWII parade for the political messages

SINGAPORE: On Wednesday (Sep 3), China staged a massive military parade in Beijing to commemorate its victory in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the end of World War II.

In line with previous Tiananmen Square military parades, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) revealed new armaments. The public display of weapons serves not only to demonstrate technological sophistication and growing military power but also as deterrence. 

The PLA has undergone rapid modernisation in recent years and China maintains the second-largest defence budget in the world after that of the United States. Although the PLA has not fought a war since 1979, its growing arsenal of advanced weapons and equipment has neutralised some doubts about its combat capabilities.

China’s President Xi Jinping will preside over the events, joined notably by Russian and North Korean counterparts Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, that will bolster Mr Xi’s desired image of strength and leadership.   

Yet, beyond the spectacle and grandiosity, China’s important political messages are more fundamental for the domestic audience.

XI IS IN CONTROL

Since the abrupt purge of the top Rocket Force commanders in 2023, a number of high-ranking military officers have met their downfall. Even presumed Xi loyalists at the Central Military Commission (CMC) have not been spared, among them former Defence Ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, and head of the CMC Political Work Department Miao Hua.

CMC vice chairman He Weidong’s status is unclear but he has vanished from public view since March. If he has also been ousted, the current CMC would be the smallest it has been since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949.

Aside from official charges of corruption, purges at these levels inevitably fuelled speculations that Mr Xi was losing control over the PLA, with some seasoned analysts even arguing that his military deputies are subverting his authority.  

So the obvious message the military parade conveys is that Mr Xi is in firm control of the PLA.

PARTY-MILITARY COHESION

But military control is a means, not an end. The party’s rule very much depends on this, so much so that in February, a new regulation criminalised criticisms of the “party’s absolute leadership over the military and the CMC chairman responsibility system”, while banning advocacy for PLA “de-partyisation (fei danghua)”, “depoliticisation (fei zhengzhihua)”, and “nationalisation”.

At present, party and military are tightly intertwined through institutional arrangements and historical narratives, of which an important one is about working hand-in-hand to defeat Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War and subsequently liberate China from the misrule of so-called “Kuomintang Reactionaries”.

Given the commemoration of the end of World War II, the parade will be an opportunity to highlight unity against common enemies and reinforce the image of unbreakable Party-military ties. 

PARTY-STATE LEGITIMISATION

The theme of the Military Parade is also designed to reinforce the party’s official narrative of its role during the war, to advertise – even aggrandise – it. 

For decades, Japan has been seen as a prime adversary of China. Therefore, the one perceived to have shouldered the heaviest burden of resistance commands greater political legitimacy.

Beijing and Taipei had been locked in a battle of narratives in the lead-up to the parade: China’s Communist Party has long claimed to be the “main force (zhongliu dizhu)” resisting Japan during the war.

Taiwan maintains that it was the Kuomintang-led government that carried the bulk of the fighting against the Japanese. These two contending narratives remain the focus of intense debates and extensive academic investigations.

SECURING LONGEVITY

China’s Victory Day Military Parade is a highly choreographed demonstration of political dominance, historical legitimacy and expanding military power.

Taken together, these messages project toughness and unity, signals the leadership hopes will strengthen China’s footing in a time of rising global uncertainty.

With the military’s support, Mr Xi’s political longevity appears secure and the parade is set to reaffirm the party’s narrative, thereby bolstering the Party-state’s popularity among the public in a time of economic slump and external geopolitical pressure.

Although the military parade’s theme paints China as a force for peace and justice, its ongoing conflicts with neighbouring countries, especially in the South China Sea, impugns this assertion.

Grasping China’s true intentions and strategic calculations now appears even more important as internal solidarity strengthens and the PLA continues to make gains in offensive capabilities.

Yang Zi is a Research Fellow in the China Programme at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.