Two blockbuster events in China this week were a successful exposition of President Xi Jinping's vision of a new world order -- one that puts him and his country firmly at its centre while sidelining his rival the United States.

Since Saturday, Xi has met with almost 30 world leaders around the edges of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin and a huge military parade marking 80 years since World War II's end.

The optics of Xi flanked by Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un as they watched a lengthy procession of long-range missiles, enormous lasers and underwater drones were difficult to misunderstand.

"Beijing is sending a message of defiance -- that Beijing will not be afraid to stand by its friends... literally," Australian National University (

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