As we get more detail from the bilateral meeting between the Russian and North Korean leaders, let's take a look at earlier scenes as Beijing hosted world leaders at its largest-ever Victory Day parade.

China's President Xi Jinping was joined at the parade by 26 heads of state, including Kim and Putin - viewed by some observers as a message to the Western nations that have shunned them.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Kim tells Putin that bilateral cooperation has strengthened under the June 2024 treaty, when they pledged mutual help against "aggression".

Last year the two countries signed a landmark agreement, which most notably includes a mutual defence clause. At the time, Kim hailed the treaty as the "strongest ever".

The two countries should further strengthen cooperation in various areas, the North Korean leader says during his meeting today.

Image source, Telegram

We're continuing to get updates from a meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Kim thanks Putin for the praise he offered for North Korea's soldiers who have been aiding Russian troops on the frontline in its war in Ukraine, highlighting the "liberation" of the Kursk region, Reuters news agency and Russian state media reports.

Kim says it is the "fraternal duty" of his country help Russia as much as possible.

Image source, Reuters

Lines are now emerging from the Putin-Kim meeting, as reported by Russian state media Tass.

Putin has told Kim that bilateral relations are friendly, and that the North Korean military helped to liberate the Kursk region.

North Korean soldiers fought there bravely, he told Kim.

Putin says their participation was part of the fight against "neo-Nazism", Tass reports.

Image source, Telegram

Tessa Wong
Asia Digital Reporter

We saw a lot of new missiles today including the DF-5C, the DF-26D and the DF-61 - a solid-fuel ICBM and the newest addition to China's nuclear arsenal.

We're also seeing several new hypersonic warheads. There's a key reason for that, say military analysts whom I've spoken to.

China has been focusing on developing its missiles and rocket forces as it sees them as a key part of its deterrence strategy - and counter the US' naval superiority, notes Alexander Neill, adjunct fellow with the Pacific Forum.

The US Navy is unrivalled in the world with the largest fleet of aircraft carriers and carrier strike groups, with China still far behind.

But there is a debate now in the Western defence community on the relevance and vulnerability of these strike groups, as they effectively are "sitting ducks" to any missile attacks, points out Neill.

"There is this idea that Beijing wants to develop its credible deterrence, but also create a second strike capability," he says, referring to the capability of a country to launch a retaliatory strike if attacked. "This is why it's expanding its diversification of its missile platforms."

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Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, is also in Beijing attending today's event.

In recent years, Kim Yo Jong has become a prominent - and often fiery - figure in the country's ruling party.

A few weeks ago, Kim Yo Jong said that Pyongyang had not removed propaganda-blasting loudspeakers along the border with South Korea.

She attended the parade alongside Kim Jong Un's daughter, Kim Ju Ae.

Tessa Wong
Asia Digital Reporter

Image source, Getty Images

One key takeaway from the parade is that China has been able to quickly produce a diverse range of weapons, say experts.

Ten years ago, the kind of military technology they put on show tended to be "rudimentary copies" of much more advanced equipment invented by the US, says analyst Michael Raska, assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University.

But today's parade showed a much more innovative and diverse range of weapons, particularly in its drones and missiles. China's top-down structure and significant resources enables it to churn out new weapons in huge quantities much faster than many other countries including the West.

But there is still the question of how well China's military can integrate all these weapons systems, he adds, pointing out that its massive size and lack of recent battlefield experience are hindrances.

"They can show off these flashy advanced platforms, but are they organisationally agile to use them in the way they want to?"

Image source, Getty Images

It's just past 13:00 in China, and President Xi and his foreign guests are now digging in at a lunch reception.

Hong Kong-based state-owned newspaper Wen Wei Po has published a photo of the menu, which includes chicken soup, roasted lamb chops and stir-fried lobster with crab.

Also on the table: clear scallop consommé with mushrooms and roasted salt-marinated salmon.

As for wine choices, guests can choose either Syrah (red) or Riesling (white) - both made by Chinese winemaker Great Wall, in Hebei province.

For a sweet treat, there's pea cake and mango mousse cake.

Laura Bicker
Reporting from Beijing

Image source, Getty Images

One of the most enduring images of this military parade took place before the first cannon was fired.

President Xi welcoming North Korea’s Kim Jong Un with a long handshake, then moving onto greet Russia’s Vladimir Putin before all three walked together to watch the parade was sheer political theatre - and it is this meeting, not just the weapons and troops on show that appears to have grabbed the attention of US leader Donald Trump.

This was the first time all three leaders have been seen in public together, and they really picked their moment.

What followed was a choreographed spectacle of precision, power and patriotism.

The choir stood in perfectly even rows, the troops goose stepped past in unison and each strike of the ground echoed through the stands of 50,000 guests in Tiananmen Square.

Then came the big weapons - a new ICBM, laser weapons and robotic wolves - and the crowd reached for their phones. The parade finished on a crowd pleasing fly past before thousands of doves and balloons were released into the skies over the capital.

This display to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, was not just a look at where China has been, or how far China has come. It showcased where China is going: Xi playing the role of a global leader prepared to stand alongside two of the most sanctioned leaders in the world.

And at his feet a military which is being built to rival the west.

Image source, TASS

Preparation is under way for a bilateral meeting between Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to Russian state media TASS.

The meeting is expected to take place at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, which receives state leaders visiting China.

We will bring you further details on this meeting.

Optics of military parade sends a clear message to Trumppublished at 05:37 British Summer Time

05:37 BST

Steve Rosenberg
Russia editor

In China this week all the diplomacy (and the optics) are designed to send a clear message to the Trump administration:

So, you want to Make America Great Again, do you? It’s America First, is it?

Well, then, we’ll offer an alternative to the US-led order. That’s why we saw the leaders of China, Russia and India smiling together at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.

It’s why Vladimir Putin called Xi Jinping “a real friend”, and the Chinese leader called his Russian counterpart “old friend.”

And it’s why Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un appeared together at the military parade on Wednesday.

In short: in the geopolitical universe different powers are aligning as a counterweight to American domination. It doesn’t mean that all these countries and leaders are 100% on the same wavelength. They’re not. Differences remain.

But the direction of travel is clear. As a headline in news outlet Komsomolskaya Pravda declared this week, in reference to Russia, China and India: “We will build a new world.”

Image source, Getty Images

In his lunch reception speech, Xi also said that the world must "never return to the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak".

He did not address any Western nations specifically, but Chinese officials have previously called the US a "bully" for its imposition of tariffs on countries around the world.

Xi added: "We sincerely hope that all countries will draw lessons from history, value peace and work together to... create a brighter future for humanity".

He concluded by toasting to "common prosperity for all humankind".

Image source, Reuters

Xi has given a five-minute speech at a reception attended by foreign leaders invited to the parade.

"Eighty years ago, after 14 years of bloody struggle, the Chinese people completely defeated the Japanese militarist aggressors and declared the final victory of the World Anti-Fascist War," he said.

"This was a historic turning point for the Chinese nation - marking the shift from a period of deep national crisis toward great national rejuvenation. It was also a major turning point in the development of the world," Xi said, reiterating communist party rhetoric about the end of WW2.

Xi said that China will "never forget the foreign governments and international friends" that had helped the country resist aggression. At this point, he didn't single out the US, even though Donald Trump expressed hope that Xi would thank the US help in ending the war in 1945.

There is, however, a veiled message for the only world economy stronger than China.

"Strength may prevail for a time, but over the long arc of history, it is reason that wins," Xi said. "Justice, light, and progress will always triumph over evil, darkness, and reaction."

As we reported earlier, we saw new formations today - with the Aerospace Force, Cyberspace Force, and Information Support Force marching for the first time.

This, says defence analyst Michael Raska, sends Beijing’s message that it is rewiring the People's Liberation Army around data, AI, and joint operations.

"The strength here is top-down political mandate; the Chinese system can impose sweeping structural reforms quickly, embedding space, cyber, and information warfare into command structures," says the assistant professor of the military transformations programme at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore.

"Yet the weakness runs deep: repeated purges, especially in the Rocket Force, highlight corruption, mistrust, and politicisation. Centralised command may look impressive in peacetime, but it risks brittleness in high-tempo combat. What China wants the world to see is a military transformed for the information age - but internally, cohesion and credibility remain fragile."

"In the end, this is deterrence theater: a powerful message to friends and rivals alike, but one that masks as many uncertainties as it displays strengths."

Meet China's newest weapon - the "robot wolves".

A contingent of four-legged robots have caught attention at the parade today, they're a relatively new - and eye-catching - asset in China's arsenal.

The machines are capable of frontline reconnaissance, delivering supplies and even launching precision strikes against targets, according to Chinese state media.

Their predecessor, "robot dogs", were unveiled at a joint military exercise with Cambodia last year.

But they were rebranded "wolves" as part of a "strategic transformation", Chinese state media CCTV reported last year.

State media says the wolves have improved combat effectiveness and strike capability - and are equipped with cameras to strike targets more precisely.

Trump's out, Xi's in - and what that means for the Westpublished at 04:54 British Summer Time

04:54 BST

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

Image source, Reuters

China’s show of geopolitical and now military power this week will hardly surprise Western leaders.

President Xi has long sought to put himself at the centre of a new world order, one that replaces the crumbling global systems established after World War Two.

But two things will send shivers down western diplomatic spines.

One is the speed with which China is filling the vacuum left by America’s withdrawal from international norms and institutions. A Chinese-led world order, one where territorial integrity and human rights are valued less than raw power and economic development, might prove uncomfortable for many western countries.

And second, the way harsh US tariffs have pushed India, the world’s biggest democracy, so quickly into the warm embrace of China, the world’s biggest autocracy, will also be of concern.

One small crumb of comfort for the West is that the so-called “axis of upheaval” on show in Beijing is not united - and India, in particular, is still at odds with China over territorial and other disputes.

The bottom line is that the economic nationalism and disruptive diplomacy of Donald Trump’s America is giving China a huge diplomatic opportunity and it’s one Xi is seizing with open arms with his summit and parade.

Ian Tang
BBC Monitoring

Earlier we saw former top leaders of China standing at the Tiananmen viewing platform.

Notably absent was former president Hu Jintao.

The live broadcast shows former premier Wen Jiabao along with retired senior officials from the Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao governments, such as vice-presidents Zeng Qinghong and Wang Qishan.

Hu, 82, was last seen in public in December 2022 during the funeral of Jiang Zemin, nearly two months after the infamous scene where he was led away during the CCP’s National Congress.

A Chinese state media ex-editor and a Taiwanese political scientist have been sharing their views with BBC following Xi's parade at the heart of Beijing.

For Wang Wen, former chief opinion editor for Chinese state media The Global Times, today's parade was a missed opportunity of Western leaders.

“The West lost an opportunity to witness history and... to better understand and observe China’s rising military power and strategic resolve up closely," he said.

Of all the major Western countries, only EU member Slovakia is represented on the head of government or state level.

Taiwanese political scientist Wen-Ti Sung, meanwhile, said the grand parade would surely be a concern for Taiwan.

Tuesday’s event puts to bed recent rumours about disorder within China’s military, projecting an image of "political unity" in China, with rank and file soldiers seen thanking Xi in a "pledge of loyalty from the military", Sung says.

Beijing has long vowed to “re-unify” self-ruled Taiwan and has not ruled out the use of force.

Image source, EPA

The massive military parade in central Beijing commemorating 80 years since China's victory over Japan in World War Two has concluded.

Let's take a look back at what happened over the past few hours:

• Chinese leader Xi Jinping greeted world leaders before the parade - including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
• In his address, Xi called on Chinese people to remember the World War Two victory over Japan, cautioning that "humanity rises and falls together" and that China is "never intimidated by bullies"
• Xi then inspected thousands of soldiers from different branches of the Chinese military gathered on Changan Avenue in central Beijing
• China unveiled a range of new military hardware, including: a new nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile, a new road-bound missile for delivering hypersonic weapons, a new laser weapon, and even 'robotic dog' drones
• In a post on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump asked whether Xi would commemorate the "massive amount of support" America provided during World War Two, before criticising Putin and Kim for conspiring against his country

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Beijing earlier on Tuesday on his signature green armoured train.

Travelling with him was his daughter, Kim Ju Ae. Her age is not publicly known.

South Korea's spy agency has said she was Kim Jong Un's "most likely successor".

You can read more about the significance of Kim Ju Ae's appearance in Beijing here.