The presidents of Congo Brazzaville and Zimbabwe were among 26 foreign leaders who attended China’s largest ever military parade in Beijing, where Africa appeared to have a reduced presence compared with a decade ago.
The event, which marked the 80th anniversary of the country’s victory over Japan in World War II, was a major show of strength and flaunted China’s key allies: Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were the guests of honor.
The last anniversary parade, 10 years ago, drew five African leaders, according to a data visualization shared by Neil Thomas, a fellow on Chinese politics at the Asia Society. Only two Western leaders — from Serbia and Slovakia — attended the parade, with the majority coming from Asia.
The carefully choreographed event was “a sign of Beijing’s growing influence in the Global South,” wrote The Associated Press, while Bloomberg noted that the guest list was shorter and more “authoritarian” than a decade ago, with Iran and Cuba among the newcomers.