North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has arrived in Beijing, joining Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin for a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

It is the first time all three will stand together in public. The image is unmistakable: a united front of strongmen casting themselves as an alternative to U.S. power.

The parade follows the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin, where Xi pledged billions in loans and aid, pushed for a new development bank, and urged members to adopt China’s satellite and energy systems. This is economic power wielded as a weapon. Xi is offering an escape hatch from U.S. dominance, knitting countries into Beijing’s orbit with cash and technology.

Washington, meanwhile, is weighed down by sweeping global tariffs and

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