Beijing’s commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War came in perfect sync with the timing of its stumbling economy, an experience they would prefer to ignore. There isn’t a better time, as history has often shown, to put on a display of military might for the world to see in order to cover up a crisis. President Xi Jinping delivered this message, as soldiers marched smartly across Tiananmen Square — a venue that held the world’s attention a few decades ago to signal internal strife — showcasing China’s military might that all was well and the Communist Party was in control of the country’s future.
Xi has used this memorial to push forward with the nationalist agenda at a time when people are looking questioningly at the Communist Party and its attempts to tackle a slumping global stock market. Social unrest needs to be avoided at all cost and patriotic sentiments need to be whipped up. A cut of 300,000 personnel had been announced along the sidelines of yesterday’s celebrations, but it is a mere blip in the context of China’s overall military might and its rising defence budget.
The military display is an overt message to other nations, particularly Japan, in what is being seen as a slow rise in tensions in the region, that Beijing will not slow down the pace of its efforts to establish a dominance, via aggressive postures, thereby reasserting its growing global influence. An economic upswing, to complement the military capability, may have resulted in the perfect combination for Chinese authorities, which is why the country’s administrators must renew their focus on the economy and attempt to stop the slide in global markets.
