Sieren's China: A weapons display of historic proportions

Beijing wants to display its power with its military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Asia. However, this does not mean there is more risk of war, says DW's Frank Sieren.

In May, Russia used the anniversary of the end of the war in Europe to stage the biggest military parade in its history. One of the guests on Moscow's Red Square was Chinese President Xi Jinping. He hopes to go one better than his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. On Thursday - one day and 70 years after Japan's surrender - Chinese troops will march on Beijing's Tiananmen Square in the biggest military parade the People's Republic of China has ever witnessed. Overall, there will be 12,000 soldiers, 500 tanks and 200 aircraft on show.

Over 80 percent of the weapons will be displayed to the public for the first time; they include several types of rockets, including anti-aircraft ballistic missiles, and the latest generation of reconnaissance planes. The parade will give the world a good idea of what the People's Liberation Army has developed in recent years. Chinese military expenditures have almost doubled to $141 billion, putting China in second place behind the US.

DW columnist Frank Sieren

The 70th anniversary has provided Xi with the perfect occasion to place more emphasis on military parades, which usually only take place every 10 years to mark the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The fact that the head of state and party was able to pull off this exception shows how important he currently is.

After two years of anti-corruption efforts and several power struggles with high-ranking functionaries, the president can show the people that the army, too, is dancing to his tune. His parade will show the world that China does not intend to be messed around with when it comes to all the territorial conflicts over the East and South China Seas. This is a question of respect, not of intimidation, a representative of China's foreign ministry put it. There's a fine line between the two, however. Particularly, with regard to Japan, which China reproaches for not having apologized for wartime atrocities.

However, it would be exaggerated to say that Xi's words and actions speak two different languages. On the one hand, he vows peace, on the other, he stages a huge military parade. But along the lines of "Barking dogs don't bite" China's muscle-flexing does not mean that there is a higher possibility of war in Asia. There are currently no trouble spots in East Asia that have the potential of escalating into a concrete war. Moreover, none of the parties in either the East or South China Sea disputes has an interest in an escalation of the situation. They are too dependent on each other in economic terms for this.

So that the view of the weapons is not obstructed by smog, over 10,000 factories in the provinces around the capital will be shut down, as was the case for the Olympic Games in 2008 and for the World Athletics Championships that just came to an end in Beijing. In a certain way, the weapons might even be contributing to environmental protection - if only briefly.

Our correspondent Frank Sieren is one of Germany's leading China experts. He has lived in Beijing for more than 20 years.