By Nectar Gan, Brad Lendon, Jessie Yeung, Simone McCarthy, CNN

Beijing (CNN) — Xi Jinping staged a staggering show of China’s military power on Wednesday before some of the world’s most powerful authoritarian leaders, rallying them behind his vision for a new world order as US President Donald Trump wages a global trade war and shakes up American alliances.

From atop the Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing, Xi presided over a 70-minute parade to mark the end of World War II – flanked by a strongman waging Europe’s bloodiest conflict since 1945 and an Asian leader funneling him troops and weapons.

To many in the West, the defining image of the spectacle is not the parade of stealth fighter jets, nuclear-capable missiles or troops marching in perfect synchrony – but the sight of Xi, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un standing side by side, in an unprecedented show of solidarity against the US and its allies.

They formed the defiant face of a growing bloc of illiberal leaders determined to push back against Western rules and tilt the global balance of power in their favor.

“The Chinese nation is the great nation that is never intimidated by any bullies,” Xi, China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, told the leaders of 26 countries, thousands of troops and more than 50,000 spectators gathering in the heart of Beijing.

At various moments throughout the parade, Xi, Putin and Kim – who had never appeared together in public before – were seen leaning toward one another, exchanging a few words or sharing a smile.

The deliberate display of unity is a pointed rebuke to Trump’s faltering attempt to end Russia’s war in Ukraine – and an open challenge to America’s waning global leadership under the US president.

That message has seemingly been received by Trump, who wrote on Truth Social as the parade was underway: “May President Xi and the wonderful people of China have a great and lasting day of celebration. Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America.”

The grand show of force was also designed to rally national pride and showcase Xi’s tight grip on the military, even as his ongoing corruption purges have roiled the top ranks of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and raised questions about the combat readiness of a force that hasn’t fought a major war in nearly half a century.

Xi rode in an open-top black limousine to inspect troops and weapons lined up along the Avenue of Eternal Peace. “Comrades, you’ve worked hard!” Xi said from his black “Red Flag” limousine. “(We) serve the people!” the soldiers shouted back in perfect unison, saluting and watching the leader as he glided by.

On Chinese social media, users applauded the impressive hardware and discipline of the PLA – and drew comparisons to Trump’s military parade held in Washington in June.

“China’s military parade: A showcase of national power. US military parade: A showcase of relaxation,” one user wrote on Weibo.

Brian Hart, a fellow of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Beijing’s goal is to show domestic audiences and foreign watchers that despite challenges like corruption, its military is increasingly advanced and lethal.

“Xi Jinping has made military modernization one of his top personal priorities, and he has been relentlessly pushing the military to improve. This parade is an opportunity to show off the PLA’s advances under his leadership,” he said.

Show of force

The parade capped days of diplomacy and pageantry in the nearby port city of Tianjin, where Xi used a regional summit to take thinly veiled swipes at Washington and cast China as an alternative global leader.

At the end of a gathering of leaders from across Asia and the Middle East, Xi rolled out a new vision for how international affairs should be governed, just as Trump’s “America First” policy is upending the world.

Wednesday’s massive display of force offered Xi a stage to show his guests that China not only has the ambition – but also the military power – to back up his vision.

“The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is unstoppable,” Xi said, repeating his call for the construction of a “world-class” military.

From hypersonic missiles, nuclear-capable weapons to laser air defense systems, the array of sophisticated weaponry on display – much of it unveiled to the public for the first time – offered a rare glimpse into the rapid advances of China’s military technology under Xi.

In more than a decade in power, Xi has spearheaded an ambitious modernization drive to turn the PLA into a “world-class” fighting force capable of rivaling – and eventually surpassing – the US military.

Xi has shifted the PLA away from a Soviet-style, army-oriented command structure to a joint operation system modeled more closely on the US military. He has created or elevated branches to address emerging domains of warfare – including the Rocket Force, which manages China’s nuclear arsenal and became a focus of Xi’s corruption purges in 2023.

Meanwhile, China has poured billions of dollars into developing weapons, many of which were featured in Wednesday’s parade for the first time. It has also leveraged its industrial base to accelerate production of military hardware – including churning out enough warships to make the PLA Navy the world’s largest.

‘Axis of Upheaval’

Optics aside, analysts say there are limits to the grand display of power and unity on Tiananmen Square.

Unlike the US, China doesn’t have a formal military alliance with any country, except North Korea, and it has regularly accused NATO of seeking security at the expense of others and causing chaos around the world.

In addition to Putin and Kim, Xi’s guests also included Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, marking the first time the four men have shown up together at one event.

Like North Korea, Iran has sent piles of weapons to Russia to support its war on Ukraine, from drones and artillery shells to short-range missiles, according to American and European officials.

In the wake of Putin’s war in Ukraine, strategists in Washington have warned of an emerging anti-American “axis of upheaval” between China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. But experts say their partnerships are primarily bilateral and there’s been few signs of four-way coordination.

Jonathan Czin, an analyst at Brookings and a former CIA China expert, said the four leaders’ joint attendance at the parade was “disconcerting” and allowed them to present “a facade of partnership.”

“However, it is likely a symbolic high-water mark for their partnership rather than a portent of deeper quadrilateral cooperation among them, never mind a turn toward some alternative new world order,” he said. “North Korea and Iran – dangerous as they are – are the much more minor players here and have very little to no leverage.”

That limitation was underscored this summer when the US launched air strikes on Iran, with China and Russia offering little in assistance apart from verbal condemnation of the attacks.

“It’s actually quite telling that the Iranian President is making this trip after that moment, since so many commentators opined that China’s credibility would take a hit when it did so little to help Iran in that moment. Given Iran’s lack of better options, China’s forbearance does not seem to have cost it much,” he said.