"It's important for China to show that this is not domestic but a global event"

CGTN Europe

CGTN Europe spoke to Director of Lau China Institute at King’s College London Professor Kerry Brown ahead of the military parade in Beijing commemorating the end of the WWII.

Transcript

00:00Perry Brown is director of the Lao China Institute at King's College London.

00:05Great to have you on the programme.

00:06Look, all of these bilateral meetings that have happened ahead of what will be

00:09one of the largest military parades ever staged,

00:13how important is the roll call of leaders attending?

00:19Well, I mean, obviously for China it's important for, you know,

00:23showing that this event in Beijing, the military parade,

00:27is not just a domestic but a global event.

00:30I mean, it's after all about China's role in modern history,

00:34defeating fascism with other allies.

00:37Although the allies now are different,

00:38I think the point is that this is China saying that it is a global power

00:43and that it's important, therefore, that other countries send leadership.

00:48Of course, there are some countries that are not present.

00:50I mean, there's representation from quite a wide range of different countries,

00:54not just at head of state or head of government level.

00:58So it would have been an international event anyway.

01:01But obviously having significant countries such as Russia,

01:06you know, kind of present is very, very important

01:09and shows it's a global event for China.

01:11Well, President Xi and President Putin also highlighted their history during World War II, didn't they?

01:17Indeed, and it's an important history.

01:23I mean, you know, China was an ally certainly of the west of UK and the United States during the war.

01:32But of course, so was Russia as the Soviet Union.

01:35And the Russian sort of casualties then were many millions.

01:41You could almost argue that the Second World War, you know, decisively was changed

01:45because of the USSR fighting against the Nazis,

01:49just as China fighting against the Japanese decisively won the Pacific War.

01:54So in some ways they have, for different reasons, you know, a common cause.

01:58And this is an event that allows them to remember and integrate that memory.

02:03Kerry Brown, I'm afraid we're going to have to leave it there.

02:06Kerry Brown, Director of the Lao China Institute at King's College London.

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