Beijing Victory Parade to Showcase Latest Chinese Military Hardware

China will for the first time present new domestically-made military hardware during the September 3 parade in Beijing marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

A "relatively large" number of new domestically-made military equipment pieces will be for the first time showcased at the September 3 parade in Beijing's Tiananmen Square dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Second World War, according to the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).

According to General Staff spokesman Qu Rui, "the demonstration of military equipment is a traditional part of parades in any country."

"This parade will see home-made weaponry currently on service with the Ground Forces, the Air Force, the Navy and the PLA's Second Artillery Corps.The share of the new military equipment, which will be demonstrated for the first time, is relatively large," Qu said.

The upcoming military parade will be the 14th such event since the foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949; notably, the parade will be the first military march-past that is not dedicated to China's National Day, which marks the country's founding. The last such parade took place in 2009.

During the organization of the forthcoming parade, Chinese authorities proceed from the principles of "practicability, economy and efficiency," according to Qui. He said that Chinese troops have already begun training for the parade at bases near Beijing.

The exact number of servicemen involved in the parade has yet to be announced. Earlier, parade organizers specifically stressed the significance of inviting a number of foreign leaders to the event.  

On September 2, 1945, Japan surrendered in a formal ceremony held aboard the USS Missouri, in what  heralded the end of World War II.