Beijing’s parade was considered as military muscle show for many international observers. The military display in parade remarkably surprised some of them. One comment in Australian Financial Review describes it as “overt militarism”. Even the Associated Press’ report on parade gave much inks on China’s might, but less concern on President Xi’ troop cut announcement. For a rising power, it is not easy to keep restraint not only in language but also in action. When we look at the Western great powers history since the 16th century, power struggles have been the norm. Military might expansion is considered as the most important objective and instrument for hegemony status. Paul Kennedy, a Yale historian, once concluded in his ‘The Rise and Fall of Great Powers’, that overstretch is the poison for powers. The Chinese old saying, “a warlike state, however big it may be, will eventually perish” has the same logic. In this sense, the troop cut is an important evidence for “the new type of major country relations” proposed by President Xi. We do not want to repeat the great historical tragedy. September’s parade is the first time for the Chinese to commemorate their contribution to the World Anti-Fascist War in the Second World War. Thus, it is not to oppose contemporary Japan, but its militarism in the Second World […]
