MILITARY PARADES IN CHINA AND THEIR ROLE IN SHAPING THE COUNTRY'S IMAGE

B. N. GORBACHEV

Doctor of Historical Sciences

Full member of the Academy of Military Sciences

Keywords: PRC, army, PLA armament, Tiananmen, military parade

The fifteenth Tiananmen Square parade was held on September 3, 2015, and for the first time was timed not to the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (October 1, 1949), but to the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese people in the War of resistance against Japan and the end of World War II.¹

UNUSUAL DATE - AN UNUSUAL PARADE

It was supposed to be the first military parade after Xi Jinping took office as President of the People's Republic of China, who did not wait for the next planned parade in 2019 in honor of the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, but decided to hold it earlier. To emphasize the important role of China not only in defeating militaristic Japan, but also in the "World Anti-fascist War" ²; to demonstrate to the country and the world the latest achievements in modernizing the defense of the PRC and, most importantly, to declare that the old China and its armed forces, which were unable to defeat the Japanese army alone, are a thing of the past ³, while reminding the nation to be ready to defend its interests harshly ⁴.

An important feature of the parade was the presence of 65 distinguished foreign guests, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, more than 30 heads of state and government, and official foreign military delegations from 30 countries5.

The main guest at the celebrations was Russian President Vladimir Putin, who stood on the podium to the right of Xi Jinping. The Russian president paid a return visit to Beijing - the celebrations in the Chinese capital were actually a continuation of the May Victory Day Parade in Moscow, which was attended by Xi Jinping and his wife.

In those days, the People's Daily noted that the presence of the KIR leader on Red Square " ... became a great political support for the President of the Russian Federation." Western leaders boycotted planned celebrations in Moscow on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Victory. However, the participation of Xi Jinping, as well as representatives of other states in the parade, signaled the end of the era of Western dominance in world politics.⁶

The solemn event traditionally began at 10 o'clock in the morning. The national flag of the People's Republic of China was hoisted on a 32-meter flagpole, 70 volleys of 56 artillery pieces thundered, symbolizing the number of nations in the country.

There was a lot of symbolism at the parade. So, two dates were connected: the 70th anniversary of the victory and 121 years since the beginning of the Sino-Japanese war in 1894, creating an allegory of the tortuous path of the Chinese people's struggle against Japanese aggression. At the same time, two hundred soldiers symbolized two goals set by the CPC Central Committee: building the initial stage of socialism, including building a middle-class society (Xiaokang) by the 100th anniversary of the CPC (2021), and "by the 100th anniversary of the PRC (2049), turning China into a rich, powerful, modernized socialist state"⁷.

Chinese President Xi Jinping stated: "The victory in the war of the Chinese people against the Japanese invaders was a complete victory, first achieved by China in repelling an external invasion in the period of modern history... The great victory allowed China to establish itself in the international arena as a great power. The Chinese people have a bright prospect of the revival of the Chinese nation, a new campaign of the newly revived China. " ⁸

In his speech, President Xi also made an unexpected statement about reducing the size of the army by 300 thousand people, demonstrating, in his opinion, China's desire for peace in order to dispel the old situation.-

Ending. Start of sm: Asia and Africa today. 2016, N 8.

the growing myth of the "Chinese threat" ⁹.

The military parade ceremony started at 10.18 am. After receiving a report from the commander of the Beijing Military District, Xi Jinping set off in an open Hongqi (Red Banner)car¹⁰ welcome the troops lined up for the parade.

When Xi Jinping returned to the podium, two troika helicopters appeared in the sky. The first leading heavy helicopter Z-8, accompanied by two Z-10 helicopters, carried the national flag of the People's Republic of China on a plumb line. The second three helicopters "towed" the PLA flag. They were followed by 20 helicopters, which drew the number "70"in the air.

COLUMNS OF UNUSUAL COMPOSITION

In total, 12 thousand soldiers and officers participated in the parade, 50 crews were formed, including 11 foot formations, 27 units with military equipment, 10 air echelons and 2 motorized groups with veterans.

They were the ones who drove past the stands first. The soldiers, whose average age was 90 years, and the oldest was 102 years old, sat for 12 people in open-top buses decorated on the sides with stylized images of episodes of the past war. The veterans included both former soldiers of the CCP and the Kuomintang army. The joint passage of veterans from different and sometimes warring camps during the war years was supposed to symbolize the "harmony and reconciliation" that had come between them.

The parade column was led by a company of honor guards, made up of representatives of three branches of the armed forces: land, naval and air. At the same time, 20-year-old girls, perfectly matched in appearance and average (1.78 m) height, dressed in fitted clothes and short skirts, marched in the last three rows.

The honor guard column was followed by 10 more columns of soldiers on foot, dressed in field uniforms and helmets with machine guns. They were "boxes" of 350 people each (14 rows of 25 people in a row). They were followed by a column of soldiers from the Armed People's Police.

For the first time, foreign military personnel from 16 countries participated in the parade. 11 of them put up full-fledged parade crews numbering, on average, 75 people each. 6 countries were represented by a parade group of 6-9 people ¹¹.

Soldiers of the honor guard of the 154th separate Commandant's Preobrazhensky Regiment closed the parade on foot. It was a tribute to Russia, highlighting its decisive contribution to the victory of the anti-Hitler coalition in World War II.¹²

Following this, 27 mechanized "boxes" consisting of 6 groups of combat modules moved to Tiananmen Square, in which 84% of weapons and equipment samples were demonstrated for the first time ¹³. The first was a tank column of 16 units of the latest T-99A tanks. Behind it - 18 assault armored amphibians 05A, which are in service with the Marine Corps. The third were infantry fighting vehicles.

Successively passed: columns of amphibious combat vehicles; anti-tank installations on a car platform equipped with 10 multi-purpose ATGM "Hongjian "("Red Arrow"); 155-mm tracked self-propelled guns PLZ-05A; special armored 6-wheeled vehicles of the People's Armed Police troops with 6-barrel light mortars and a machine gun on board, designed to fight terrorists.

Then the air defense equipment went to the square. Bringing up the rear of the column was the HQ-6 air defense system ("Hongqi-6") with 4 missile containers on a 6-wheeled vehicle platform designed to destroy air targets flying at medium and low altitude.

Increased public attention was shown to the missile units. In particular, DF-21D medium-range ballistic missiles, CJ-10A strategic cruise missiles (Changjian Long Sword), DF-26 missile launchers capable of carrying nuclear and non-nuclear warheads, DF-31A intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads, and heavy-class intercontinental ballistic missiles passed through Tiananmen Square. with separable individual guidance warheads DF-5B¹⁴.

By the time the ground parade columns were completed, an aerial parade had unfolded in the air over Tiananmen. It turned out to be the largest in the entire history of parades. It involved almost 200 aircraft of 20 different models not only of the PLA Air Force, but also of the Army and Navy aviation.

The newest combat and auxiliary aircraft were shown. At the same time, for the first time, group piloting was performed by a large number of aircraft, and the air groups were headed by the commanders of aviation units.

By the way, this parade, as never before, was attended by many senior officers-svy-

more than 50 people, including lieutenant-generals and major-generals: the oldest of them was 58 years old, while the average age of the generals participating in the parade was 53 years.

At the parade, China showed its latest military-technological developments. Among them - 500 units of weapons of 40 types. 80% of these developments have never been presented to the general public before. It is clear that not all samples are en masse in service with the POAC. And some types of equipment have been manufactured quite a bit, and the process of testing and fine-tuning them is still far from complete.

Foreign experts point out that in many Chinese developments, you can guess the features of copying foreign, especially Russian analogues, the use or adaptation of other people's technical solutions in Chinese models. So, military observer Viktor Baranets noted after the parade: "... Chinese specialists admit that their military equipment " grew out of Russian pants." But China has managed to create its own military-industrial complex, which today is already successfully "competing" with competitors. " ¹⁵

In the Chinese media, the advantages of weapons and military equipment shown at the parade were discussed in detail. At the same time, it was emphasized not only the variety of military-technical equipment of the PLA, but also the fact that a significant part of the samples was completely new or had undergone a deep modernization.

After the parade, 70,000 pigeons and balloons were released into the sky over Tiananmen Square as a symbol of China's peace-loving attitude. This, according to the organizers, was intended to soften the impression of a formidable military demonstration of China.

THE ROLE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF BEIJING'S "PARADE HISTORY"

The history of military parades held in Tiananmen Square clearly demonstrates the path that the country and its armed forces have taken since the proclamation of the People's Republic of China to the present day. Poor and backward China, which emerged from the long civil wars and the struggle against Japanese aggressors, managed in a historically short time to turn into a world power with powerful armed forces capable of protecting not only the country's security and sovereignty, but also influencing the development of the world situation as a whole.

This path was not easy and was filled with many mistakes and tragedies for the people. But in the end, the country's leaders, relying on the creative forces of the Chinese, using rational economic methods and the benefits of cooperation with different states, have achieved results that amaze the world. The "Chinese dream" proclaimed by them, especially in the field of defense, is visibly being implemented.

Certainly, the last military parade in Beijing was a fascinating sight. In addition to the announced goals of the parade, its organizers sought to simultaneously distract people from the problems that had arisen in the economy, the fall in the Chinese stock market, etc. It was necessary to reduce social tension in the country and rally forces around the current leadership led by Xi Jinping, who purposefully fights corruption in the country and in the army and proclaims ambitious projects such as the" Chinese dream " and the construction of a new Silk Road.

Although the Chinese media reported only positive reviews about the parade, many Chinese, especially in Beijing, were dissatisfied with the unprecedented security measures that turned not only Tiananmen Square, but the entire Chinese capital into a Forbidden City, and created a lot of inconvenience and problems for many citizens. More than 20 metro stations did not work, there was a strict ban on the passage of cars, so as not to pollute the atmosphere, several hundred enterprises were closed.

This shows what a huge bet Beijing made on this military parade and did everything possible not to overshadow it in any way. At the same time, according to some foreign journalists, the expectations associated with the parade were too high. "The backswing was so strong that it looked like it would be a backhand, "the Kommersant newspaper wrote. - One of the members of the Kazakh delegation, coming down from the podium, said bluntly: "The Chinese didn't show anything like that. We waited and waited for them... well, pigeons... But this is a parade. Military! " ¹⁶.

The Chinese leadership faced a difficult task: not only to demonstrate the increased military power of the country, but at the same time not to frighten the world community by increasing the "Chinese danger". In general, Beijing succeeded. By showing the world the extent of its involvement in World War II, China has sent a clear signal that it is not threatening anyone, although it is ready to firmly defend its interests and not only within its borders.

China's recently published military strategy explicitly states:"...A world war is impossible in the foreseeable future, and we should expect a generally peaceful situation, but hegemonism, politics from a position of strength, and rivalry are different-

in the international arena, terrorist activity, national and religious contradictions, border and territorial disputes, and incessant small wars are also receiving a new development. And only a strong army can protect the state, a great power needs to strengthen its army. " ¹⁷

In this regard, the military parade in Beijing convincingly showed the current shield and sword of the Middle Kingdom. And the whole" parade history " of China shows the general picture of the country's army and defense construction, the difficult path of the formation of Chinese statehood from the moment of the PRC's formation to its transformation into the world's leading power.

¹ As early as August 13, 1951. The State Council of the People's Republic of China has published a notice signed by Premier Zhou Enlai on the establishment of September 3 as Victory Day in the War with Japan. However, in the context of the war with Korea, this date was not widely celebrated in the country. Recently, the attitude of the Chinese leadership to this date has changed. Thus, on February 27, 2014, the 7th session of the NPC's Committee of the 12th convocation approved a decision to designate September 3 as Victory Day in the War of Resistance of the Chinese People to the Japanese invaders and hold commemorative events annually on this day - http://www.cntv.ru/2014/02/28/ARTI1393553611786768.shtml

² In China, recently they prefer to talk about the "world anti-fascist war", which began on July 7, 1937 with the Japanese attack on China (sometimes the Chinese count from September 18, 1931 - from the moment of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria), and not about the Second World War, which is usually counted in the West and in our historiography from the German attack on Poland on September 1, 1939 This allows us to emphasize that the war lasted longer for China than for all other participants in the Second World War. Recalling that during the long-term resistance, the Chinese held down the actions of the Japanese army in Asia at the cost of heavy losses, Beijing wants to declare itself as the victorious state that determined the outcome of the world war. By 2015, the Chinese formulation, according to which China was the main front of the war in the East, and Russia - the main front of the war in the West, had already taken root in the media. See: Lomanoe A. Pigeons of War. Beijing Victory Parade proclaims China the winner in the East // World and politics. 2015, No. 10, pp. 14-15.

³ http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2801614

⁴ Victory Day Parade in Beijing should show the world the extent of China's participation in World War II and the victory over Japan-Academician Vladimir Myasnikov - http://russian.news.cn/2015-09/03/c134587567.htm

⁵ Former German Chancellor H. Schroeder and former British Prime Minister T. Blair attended the parade. The heads of these countries, as well as France, the United States and Japan, did not come to Beijing. Leading Western countries have limited themselves to ambassadors.

⁶ It should be noted that 110 Chinese servicemen from the Honor Guard company of three branches of the armed forces came to participate in the Moscow parade on May 9, 2015. For the first time, the Chinese military contingent participated in a parade abroad in 2010 in Mexico City on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Mexican independence. The second time the Chinese military participated in a parade abroad was in 2011 in Venezuela (China Daily. 28.04.2015). The third time was in Moscow. In addition to the Chinese, military personnel from nine countries participated in the parade in Moscow: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, India, Mongolia and Serbia. The total number of foreign troops at the parade was approximately 1,300 people.

⁷ People's Republic of China: politics, economy, culture. 2012-2013. Moscow, 2013. p. 15.

⁸ China for the first time held a military parade in honor of the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the War of Resistance of the Chinese people to the Japanese invaders / / Xinhua News Agency. 04.09.2015 - http://russian.people.com.en//n/2015/0904/c31521-8945557.html

⁹ It is planned to complete the announced reduction in the size of the army at the end of 2017 / / China Daily. 09.09.2015 - http://www.cntv.ru/2015/09/03/VIDE1441268280136486.shtml

¹⁰ In 2009, Hu Jintao rode in a parade with the symbolic number V-02009, using a Hongqi car. On the front bumper of Xi Jinping's car, instead of a license plate, a red plate with the coat of arms of the People's Republic of China was installed. The car of the general accompanying the President of the People's Republic of China was numbered VA 01945 (year of victory). In addition, a third spare car with microphones with the number VA 02015 (the year of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the victory) was driving behind - http://mil.sina.cn/zgjq/2015/09/03/details-ifxqhui4782550.d.html?domain=mil. news. sina. com. cn & vt=4; Beijing. 2015 Collection, 2015, N 51. p. 6.

¹¹ The column of military personnel of Belarus numbered 85, Cuba - 90, Egypt-81, Kazakhstan-86, Kyrgyzstan-83, Mexico-75, including 30 female cadets, Mongolia-74, Pakistan-75, Serbia-75, Tajikistan-75, Russia-76. Afghanistan, Cambodia, Fiji Laos was represented by a banner group of 7 people, Vanuatu-6, Venezuela-9 (See: Liu Hui. How foreign troops prepare for the Victory Day Parade in Beijing / / People's Daily online. 02.09.2015 - http://russian.people.com.en/n/2015/0903/c31521-8945109.html)

¹² In China, historically it is considered the most honorable to close the parade. See: Petrovskaya L. Preobrazhensky Regiment will honorably close the Victory Parade in Beijing. 24.08.2015 - http://u-f.ru/News/u352/2015/08/24/722401. At the same time, the Russian parade crew, lined up in a column of three, looked small and not as majestic as the Chinese parade "boxes" in the vast Tiananmen Square.

¹³ 2015.9.3 Zhongguo dayuebing wuqi xiangjie. Zhei xie chuanbei Daodi Yu do lehigh? (Detailed explanation of the weapons at the military parade in China 03.09.2015. How cool are these weapons ultimately?) http://m.iml70.com/article/view_10_61.html

¹⁴ 2015 Zhongguo kangzhan yuebing wuqi zhuanbei mingcheng ji zhongyao gongneng (Names and main characteristics of weapons and military equipment at the parade in China in honor of the anti-Japanese war in 2015) - http://m.bj.bendibao.com/news/200490.html

^{Baranets V.} 15 Chinese power that grew out of the "Russian pants" - http://www.kp.ru/daily/26428.4/3300366/

^{Kolesnikov A.} 16 The Great Front Wall. How China emerged victorious before Vladimir Putin - http://www.kommersant.ru/dok/2802082

¹⁷ Military strategy of China / / Press-Chancellery of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. Beijing, May 2015, pp. 3, 8.

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