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Dewey Sim

America’s envoy to Beijing is expected to skip China’s military parade next week, joining what appears to be a concerted effort by Western missions to opt out of the grand event despite Chinese pressure.
The South China Morning Post has learned from multiple sources that US ambassador David Perdue is unlikely to attend the parade that China is holding in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Wednesday to commemorate the end of World War II.
It is unclear if the US embassy would instead dispatch another diplomat or a military attaché to the event.
The Post has reached out to the embassy for comment.


The move represents a downgrade from Washington’s representation at the inaugural parade Beijing held a decade ago to mark the 70th anniversary of the war’s end, when then-ambassador Max Baucus attended.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing remain high, especially in areas tied to trade, despite recent dialogue. The two sides have conducted several rounds of trade negotiations after an explosive tit-for-tat tariff war erupted earlier this year.
On Friday, at a press conference detailing the military parade, Chinese foreign vice-minister Ma Zhaoxu said China and the US could be “partners and friends and work together to do … good things beneficial for both countries and the world”, given their extensive common interests.
But Ma also warned that “pressure and coercion on China is not the right approach and will not work”.
“Efforts to hold back China’s development and hinder the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation are doomed to fail,” he said, adding that Beijing would firmly defend its sovereignty, security and development interests.
China has been gearing up for the massive parade showcasing its latest weapons and military equipment. The parade also affords Beijing a chance to highlight its growing global clout as it welcomes a slew of high-ranking officials from around the world.
Media reports in June suggested that China had planned to invite US President Donald Trump to the parade, but the Chinese foreign ministry did not confirm or deny the plan, saying it had no information. At the time, analysts suggested Trump’s attendance could undermine Washington’s posture in the Indo-Pacific region.
On Thursday, China’s foreign ministry announced that some 26 foreign leaders would attend the Victory Day parade, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.


Top Southeast Asian leaders such as Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will also attend.
However, only two current heads of government from Europe are slated to take part: Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
The Post earlier reported that ambassadors from European missions in Beijing had discussed plans to miss the parade, partly stemming from Putin’s attendance as the war in Ukraine drags on.
China’s assistant foreign minister Hong Lei said on Thursday that the list of high-ranking leaders attending the parade illustrated the “high importance” countries attached to the commemorations as well as “their friendship towards the Chinese people”.
The attendees were coming from different continents, he added, and that indicated “the international community’s widespread recognition of China’s historical contributions” to the war.
Perdue, a former Republican US senator and a long-time China critic, arrived in Beijing in May as trade frictions between the two rival economies ran high.
At his confirmation hearing in April, Perdue urged the United States to take a “nuanced, non-partisan and strategic” view towards China.
In June, after Perdue met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, he wrote on social media that he had emphasised Trump’s priorities on trade, fentanyl and illegal immigration, adding that communication was vital to the US-China relationship.
Wang, meanwhile, said he hoped Perdue would serve as a “reliable communicator, a mediator of differences and a promoter of cooperation between the two countries” and that “the US side should meet China halfway”, according to a Chinese readout.
In 2015, ahead of China’s military parade that year, America’s then-national security adviser, Susan Rice, told Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting that the US “highly values the tremendous contributions made by the Chinese people in the war and the profound friendship forged between the US and China”.


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David Perdue, America’s ambassador to China, is a former Republican US senator and long-time critic of Beijing. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

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Chinese military personnel rehearse for next week’s parade. Photo: AFP

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Zou Dehuai (right) curated the exhibition from his own collection of more than 10,000 photographic artefacts. Photo: X/USAmbChina

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People attend the national memorial ceremony honouring the victims of the Nanking massacre of 1937 in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on December 13, 2022. Photo: Xinhua

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial in Japan, also known as the Atomic Bomb Dome. Photo: EPA

American missionary Minnie Vautrin is credited with saving civilians pleading for shelter as Japanese soldiers approached Jinling Women’s College in Nanjing, which she led during the Nanking massacre. Photo: Handout

Post learns America’s top diplomat in China is unlikely to attend commemoration of end of World War II as bilateral tensions stay high


Post learns America’s top diplomat in China is unlikely to attend commemoration of end of World War II as bilateral tensions stay high.


.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Exclusive | US ambassador to China expected to skip Beijing military parade: sources

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Post learns America’s top diplomat in China is unlikely to attend commemoration of end of World War II as bilateral tensions stay high

Exclusive | US ambassador to China expected to skip Beijing military parade: sources

Post learns America’s top diplomat in China is unlikely to attend commemoration of end of World War II as bilateral tensions stay high