The world has been saying about Beijing's grand military parade on Thursday, held to mark the 70th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the end of World War Two. Here's what many world leaders who attended the commemorations thought.http://t.cn/RyyvmLn
Xi takes group photos with foreign guests ahead of V-Day parade
Chinese President Xi Jinping took group photos with foreign leaders, government representatives and leading officials of international and regional organizations ahead of a V-Day parade on Thursday morning.
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China holds parade, vows peace on war anniversary
Staged a grand parade on Thursday in Tian'anmen Square to mark the 70th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) and the end of World War II, China attracted the world's attention by showing the aspiration for peace and its determination to safeguard post-war international order.
President Xi Jinping delivered a speech before the parade to call people to commemorate the hard-won peace after years of bloody war that had inflicted heavy losses on China and other countries.
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In honoring all the Chinese who perished in the war and those who have contributed to the victory in the deadly conflicts with Japan, the parade is a tribute to history and a call for peace, Xi said.
But he warned that the world is far from tranquil although peace and development have become the prevailing trend.
War is the sword of Damocles that still hangs over mankind. We must learn the lessons of history and dedicate ourselves to peace, he said.
Ravaging through Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania, that war inflicted over 100 million military and civilian casualties. China suffered over 35 million casualties and the Soviet Union lost more than 27 million lives, Xi said.
The victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression is the first complete victory won by China in its resistance against foreign aggression in modern times.
This great triumph re-established China as a major country in the world and opened up bright prospects for the great renewal of the Chinese nation, Xi said.
Xi vowed that China will never seek hegemony or expansion no matter how much stronger it may become. He said the country will never inflict its past suffering on any other nation.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspected the troops after the speech.
On the Tian'anmen Square, Xi and the first lady Peng Liyuan welcomed honored guests, including 30 national leaders, to watch the parade which involved more than 12,000 military personel as well as veterans and their descendants. Seventeen foreign military teams also took part.
Leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of Korea Park Geun-hye, Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moom witnessed the historical event.
1779 overseas Chinese from more than 120 countries and regions were invited, 5 of them were invited to watch the parade from the Tian'anmen Rostrum, including Chinese American physicist Paul Chu, and business tycoon Lucio Tan.
Opened with a helicopter flying by parading the national flag, the march past lasted for about 50 minutes. 20 military helicopters flew overhead forming the figure 70 to mark the 70th anniversary commemorations. Seven fighter jets flew past, making the world's longest colored vapor trail.
After more than 300 veterans, including Kuomingtang veterans, and their descendants passed by in two vehicle formations, eleven formations of Chinese troops marched past, including 51 female honor guards. It was the first time female honor guards have joined a parade. More than 50 generals, with an average age of 53, leaded parade units.
Seventeen formations of foreign troops from 17 countries including Russia and Pakistan, marched past, before twenty-seven formations of armaments paraded.
This was the first time foreign military teams join in a Chinese military parade.
The world has been saying about Beijing's grand military parade on Thursday, held to mark the 70th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the end of World War Two. Here's what many world leaders who attended the commemorations thought.
