As China’s September 3, 2025, Victory Day parade approaches, leaders like Russia’s Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un confirm attendance, while Western powers like the US, UK, France, Germany, and Japan send low-level delegates. This absence isn’t coincidental—it’s tied to historical baggage, geopolitical alliances, and efforts to contain China. With 26 foreign leaders attending, mostly from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the guest list reveals shifting global orders. Explore the secrets behind the snubs and what they mean for international relations.
Beijing’s 2025 Victory Day parade, marking 80 years since WWII’s end, will see 26 foreign leaders in attendance, including Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and heads from Vietnam, Indonesia, and Iran. Notably absent are Western heavyweights: no US President Trump, no UK Prime Minister, and no French or German leaders—only minor officials or ex-diplomats represent them. This collective snub echoes 2015 patterns, rooted in historical amnesia, alliance loyalties, and US-led “Indo-Pacific” strategies to curb China. While Europe downplays V-E Day, China’s event warns against history revisionism, highlighting Japan’s unpunished war crimes and 35 million Chinese casualties. The parade isn’t just remembrance—it’s a challenge to Western narratives, drawing Asia-Africa-Latin allies who share anti-colonial bonds.
Historical Baggage and Selective Memory
Western attitudes toward WWII victory contrast sharply with China’s. In Europe, V-E Day (May 8) is subdued: for Britain, it marked empire decline; for occupied nations, it shifted hegemony from Germany to the US. France’s parades maintain “great power” facade, emphasizing de Gaulle’s role despite debates.
China’s commemoration is fervent, addressing unfinished justice: Japan pinned the Pacific War on Pearl Harbor (1941), ignoring China’s pre-1937 resistance, where it tied down 70% of Japanese forces and inflicted 1.5 million casualties. With 35 million Chinese dead, and war criminals enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine, the parade warns against “historical nihilism” and revisionism by Japanese right-wingers and Western politicians.
This “unsettled score” makes attendance politically risky for Western leaders, who avoid endorsing China’s narrative over Japan’s.
Geopolitical Alliances and US Influence
Absence reflects US-orchestrated alliances. Japan, a key US tool in containing China, lobbied against attendance in 2015; similar pressures persist in 2025. Skipping equates to loyalty to the “Indo-Pacific strategy,” avoiding offending Tokyo amid South China Sea tensions.
South Korea’s shift—from President Park Geun-hye attending in 2015 to “scheduling conflicts” in 2025—highlights US leverage on smaller allies. Russia’s consistent presence (Putin as sole UN Security Council leader in 2015) underscores Sino-Russian ties against Western isolation.
The guest list favors “new friends”: leaders from ASEAN, Africa, and Latin America, sharing anti-colonial histories and rejecting the 1951 San Francisco Treaty that excluded China. Serbia’s Vucic, facing EU airspace bans for Moscow visits, exemplifies solidarity with China’s “community of shared future.”
Parade’s Narrative Power and Implications
The parade reclaims history: debuting militia squads honors “people’s war,” challenging elite-focused narratives. New tech like drones and hypersonics declares: we defend WWII fruits with resolve and capability.
Western absence avoids validating this, fearing it bolsters China’s challenge to US-led order. Yet, it highlights multipolarity: Asia-Africa-Latin presence signals eroding Western dominance.
Conclusion
Western leaders’ absence from China’s 2025 parade reveals deep historical divides and strategic calculations, prioritizing alliances over shared WWII victory. As Putin and Kim stand with Xi, it underscores a shifting world order favoring equality over hegemony. This snub may isolate the West further—history demands reckoning, not avoidance.
