President Xi Jinping’s military reshuffle in China centralises power

China hosted a spectacular display of its armed forces Thursday at the parade, which celebrated the 70th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II, a war that cost tens of millions of Chinese lives.

Xi made the remarks on the Tian’anmen Rostrum before the start of the parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War. Russian Federation has more than 20 troops per 10,000 people while USA has about seven, China has close to six and India has only about four military personnel per 10,000 capita.

“The Japanese government has long urged Beijing to raise transparency about China’s military power”, he said.

China wants to convince the world that it is set on maintaining peace, despite their increased assertiveness in the East and South China Seas.

In a sign of that emerging capability, five ships are sailing in worldwide waters in the off, the said on Wednesday, at a time when U.S. President is touring the state. He described the eight-year conflict, in which historians say 15 to 20 million Chinese died, as “a decisive battle between justice and evil, between light and darkness” and said the victory had “re-established China as a major country in the world”.

But many Western leaders and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have stayed away.

The announcement could be seen as an attempt to soften the impact of Thursday’s spectacle that saw 12,000 troops march through the center of the Chinese capital, accompanied by tanks, bomber aircraft and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Chinese President Xi Jinping descended to Beijing‘s main thoroughfare and inspected rows of troops, riding past them in a black limousine.

Xi also said that China would never seek hegemony or expansion. The parade also sent out important signals to India, Japan and other Asian countries about China’s technology backed military power.

“By displaying so many new weapon systems and advocating the post-World War Two order, China is attempting to convey a message that it has risen and should be respected”, Arthur Ding, a military expert, told The Daily Telegraph.

“We Chinese love peace”, he said.

Among them was the Dong Feng-21D anti-aircraft-carrier medium-range nuclear missile (‘Carrier-Killer), which now is the world’s only ballistic missile capable of engaging a moving target out at sea.

The Chinese president also talked about China’s resolve to honor the past, remembering the price it had to pay for peace at the same time, reported The Guardian. Officials have repeatedly said that the parade is not aimed at a specific country.