China's Military Parade: Putin, Kim Jong-un Attend, Signaling Anti-Liberal Global Order

China's Military Might and Global Ambitions

• 🇨🇳 China hosted a large military parade in Tiananmen Square, with President Xi Jinping joined by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.
• 🚀 This joint appearance was a powerful projection of Beijing's new might and its ambition to lead a new "anti-liberal global order."
• 💥 The parade heavily featured weaponry, including tanks, drones, and aerial displays, seemingly designed to outshine a smaller parade held in Washington D.C.

US Foreign Policy and Shifting Alliances

• 🇺🇸 The US, under President Trump, attempted to "woo" Putin and peel Russia away from China, a strategy sometimes referred to as the "reverse Nixon" or "reverse Kissinger."
• 💔 This attempt appears to have failed, as evidenced by the strong alliance projected by Putin and Kim Jong-un standing with Xi Jinping.
• 🗣️ Trump's statement about the leaders conspiring against the US highlights a perceived disappointment in the American foreign policy establishment.

Russia-China Alliance and Historical Context

• 🤝 The alliance between Russia and China is presented as closely allied, with historical references to Soviet fighter pilots defending Shanghai in the 1930s being used to underscore their current partnership.
• 🌍 While there are frictions, such as potential competition in the Arctic due to climate change, the overall sense of partnership against Washington is strong.

North Korea's Role and China's Strategic Interests

• ⚠️ China views North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and its bilateral relationship with Russia as annoying but not existential.
• 🛡️ Beijing's primary existential concern is preventing the reunification of the Korean Peninsula under a democratic, US-sponsored government, which would place American troops directly on China's border.
• ✅ As long as North Korea maintains its status as a border buffer state, Beijing is likely to tolerate Kim Jong-un's actions.