How to understand the Chinese military parade

The military parade in Beijing, organized on the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Japan in World War II, was the culmination of several days of negotiations between China, Russia, India and their Asian regional partners on security and economic issues and mutual cooperation. What does this mean for further global development?

The parade in Beijing's Tiananmen Square was not just a parade of soldiers and weapons. It was a carefully prepared act of "strategic communication", a message about growing military power, diplomatic position and historical mission to domestic and foreign audiences. First and foremost for Washington.

It was also a diplomatic arena. Representatives of a number of countries from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and Latin America attended the parade. Leaders of states that are still described as "undecided", which still maintain an "even" distance from both China and the USA, also arrived.

Washington, above all, must weigh this. President Xi has already called for a "clear stance against hegemonism and power politics" – coded language for American foreign policy – at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization leaders' summit, and has appealed to the virtue of "true multilateralism".

This is anathema to US President Donald Trump, who loves nothing more than bilateral agreements.

This is not new Chinese rhetoric, but thanks to Trump, Beijing's line is more credible than it used to be. Trump's trade wars, heavily focused on India and Brazil, two giants of the global south, have prompted many other governments to reckon with Washington as a potential threat and adversary, and to forge a new understanding with Beijing.

In this context, The Washington Post quoted an unnamed diplomat from a major country in the global south, who said, with some exaggeration, that although the United States refers to China and Russia as "revisionist powers," right now we see that Trump's America has "rocked the ship of global stability" with its policies.

Here we can recall the words of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that "the post-war order is not only outdated, it is also a weapon being used against us." This was undoubtedly also a message for Europeans.

Isn't American policy also moving from wall to wall? In response to the parade, Trump wished the Chinese president and the wonderful Chinese people a wonderful day of celebration on the Truth Social network and asked him to "send warm greetings to Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean President Kim Jong-un, with whom he is scheming against the United States."

But a month ago, Trump brought Putin out of diplomatic isolation in the West with a meeting in Alaska. And he recently spoke about his intention to meet with Kim Jong-un again, which he said he was looking forward to.

Understanding American politics is simply difficult now.

Miloš Balabán, Právo Daily