HONG KONG — China staged a highly choreographed military parade on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

It was a grand display of China's ambitions, its alliances and its expanding influence. Thousands of goose-stepping soldiers marched through Tiananmen Square, in the heart of Beijing, as Chinese President Xi Jinping looked on from above.

More than two dozen world leaders attended. Topping the guest list were Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

It marked the first time that the three men – leaders of a group of countries that the Center for a New American Security, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, labeled a " new axis of upheaval" – have come together at one event.

The leaders presented a striking image atop the r

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