China said that it will show off new weapons at a military parade next month, potentially giving rivals like the US a first chance to see what hardware the Asian nation is ready to field.
“The weapons and equipment on display this time were all selected from major battle equipment that is domestically produced and is currently in service, with a large proportion being new types of equipment making their debut,” Wu Zeke, an official helping organize the event planned for Sept. 3, said at a briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.
New hardware like tanks, fighter jets, drones and “and other advanced equipment to demonstrate our new quality combat force” would be displayed, he said, adding that the material would include hypersonic weapons.
China under President Xi Jinping has been spending heavily to upgrade its military. The nation is also the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter, with customers are mostly developing nations like Pakistan that have limited funds.
China is one of the world’s foremost developers of hypersonics — fast, low-flying and highly maneuverable weapons designed to be too quick and agile for traditional missile defense systems to detect in time. The technology is at the center of escalating competition between the US on one side and on the other China and Russia. Ukraine has said Russia used hypersonics in the war in 2024.
Still, China’s military has been dogged by worries that corruption limits its effectiveness. In recent years, Xi has mounted a clean-up campaign that has included the department that arms the military. In July, China’s top military body ordered a sweeping overhaul to restore the credibility of political leaders because of the taint of graft.
The military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II will be overseen by Xi, with Russian leader Vladimir Putin reportedly among the attendees. Preparations for the event started in earnest last weekend, when some shopping malls and subway exits along a central boulevard in Beijing were closed.
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