How powerful is China’s military?

President Xi Jinping told the world that China does not fear violence, and that it has armed thousands of soldiers in Tiananmen Square with sophisticated military equipment, ballistic missiles, and nuclear weapons on the 80th anniversary of the world war’s end.

Both Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, took center stage.

Was Xi thus demonstrating that there was a world order in place of the US?

How was this message received, if so? What does it mean for international politics, then?

Presenter: James Bays

Guests: 

• Richard Weitz, senior associate professor of NATO defense, is the senior non-resident.
• Andy Mok, Senior Researcher at Beijing’s Center for China and Globalization
• Fraser Howie, author of Red Capitalism and Privatizing China, is a writer and commentator.