China’s Xi Puts on a Show of Power and Influence

The first WhatsApp message I received this morning was from my parents, all the way from Borneo, telling me they were in a coffee shop full of ethnic Chinese watching a telecast of China’s once-a-decade military parade. The crowd included both Malaysians and mainlanders who had found their way to the state of Sarawak, a reminder of how global the stage is for Chinese President Xi Jinping.

It was Xi’s moment to shine, and he used it to project defiance against “power and intimidation” while showcasing China’s growing firepower and diplomatic influence alongside his closest international allies. The Chinese leader stood flanked by Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un on Beijing’s Tiananmen Gate, watching over the vast square as formations of goose-stepping soldiers marched in unison and a new generation of tanks and missile launchers rumbled past.