Xi started a brief address by remembering the victims of the war and called for eradication of the roots of war to prevent history from repeating itself.

But Xi’s main message was forward looking: today, China is strong, fears no one and is ready to take a leading role in the world.

A Japanese invasion before the war and the conflict itself killed millions of Chinese people.

The military parade is also a show of strength to boost support for the Communist Party and its leader, Xi, domestically, and a way to portray itself as a global alternative to the American-dominated postwar era.

“The Chinese people’s rejuvenation cannot be blocked, and the noble goal of the peaceful development of human civilisation must triumph,” Xi said at the end of his speech.

The ceremony began with an 80-gun artillery salute to mark the 80 years since the end of the war, followed by the national anthem, the March of the Volunteers, a song composed in 1935 during the early years of resistance against Japanese forces in the country.

A sea of people sat in clearly demarcated sections on the square across the wide avenue as the soldiers marched past.

They waved small red flags as choirs sang patriotic songs including Defend the Yellow River and No New China without the Communist Party of China.