Fighter jets. Drone interceptors. Strategic missiles. These are just some of the high-end weapons that China broadcast to the world on Wednesday in a military parade. But of equal importance, if not more, was who was there to watch it.

Chinese President Xi Jinping led the parade, which marked the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II, at Tiananmen Square. But the parade also opened up a rare opportunity to bring together in person Xi, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, and North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un—leaders of a so-called “axis of upheaval.”

Also in attendance were a plethora of other world leaders China invited in what experts claim was meant to be a projection of power, particularly towards the U.S. and its allies, who

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