A striking image from Tiananmen Square reveals more than ceremony, it signals a new geopolitical alignment.
A striking image from Tiananmen Square has resurfaced the global north’s anxieties about a shifting world order. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stood shoulder to shoulder with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of World War II’s end. Far from a ceremonial gathering, the moment marked a deliberate geopolitical declaration, one that may be remembered as the opening act of a new Cold War.
In China’s tightly choreographed political maneuvering, such spectacles are rarely incidental. The parade was not a spontaneous show of solidarity but a calculated convergence of interests. Beijing’s hosting of the event served as a direct counterweight to the growing Japan-South Korea-U.S. security bloc. Analysts who dismiss the alignment as temporary overlook the accelerating trajectory toward deeper coordination.
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Xi’s Strategic Hosting of the Anti-Western Triad
Unlike Russia’s own Victory Day celebration in May 2025, where Xi attended, but Kim did not, the Beijing parade was the trio’s formal debut. Xi Jinping emerged as the undisputed host and leader of the China-North Korea-Russia axis. The absence of a similar photo-op in Moscow highlighted Beijing’s central role in shaping this coalition. For Xi, the gains were strategic and symbolic, as he positioned China as the nucleus of a hard-power bloc challenging the U.S.-led global framework.
This alignment is not an end in itself. It reflects Beijing’s broader ambitions, articulated through its Global Governance Initiative and reinforced by its Global Security and Development Initiatives. The summit also provided cover for expanding “gray zone cooperation,” including illicit transfers of dual-use technologies and the reintroduction of North Korean laborers under United Nations sanctions exemptions labeled as “livelihood” support.
Putin’s presence in Beijing offered immediate diplomatic points. Appearing alongside Xi Jinping helped counter Western narratives of Russia’s isolation following its invasion of Ukraine. The summit also reinforced the continued flow of North Korean weapons to Russia’s war effort, now politically shielded by Beijing’s endorsement. This supply chain not only strengthens Moscow’s battlefield capabilities but also expands its leverage in Northeast Asia, forcing Washington to stretch its strategic resources thinner.
Kim’s Rise and the End of Denuclearization Talks
Kim Jong Un’s transformation was perhaps the most dramatic. Once viewed as an isolated leader, he now stands as a crucial partner in a trilateral bloc. His “security from Russia, economy from China” strategy, known as an-reo-kyung-joong, has materialized. By supplying artillery and defense to Russia, Kim Jong Un has shifted from aid-dependent to active contributor, gaining newfound leverage in the process.
China, meanwhile, is using the UN’s “livelihood loophole” to funnel fuel, food, and trade benefits into North Korea. This support ensures that Pyongyang remains a buffer state for Beijing, with Moscow now sharing the burden of sustaining Kim’s regime. The result is a strengthened North Korea whose nuclear arsenal is no longer negotiable, effectively burying U.S. hopes of denuclearization.
The most dangerous miscalculation Washington could make is to view this axis as fragile. While the motivations of China, Russia, and North Korea differ, their coordination increasingly resembles a bloc structure. History offers a parallel as during the Korean War, these same powers came together against a U.S.-led coalition, triggering devastating conflict.