China factor rides high at Moscow celebrations

A 102-member guard of honor from China joined the Victory Day parade in Red Square for the first time on Saturday, as 18 Russian veterans who fought against the Japanese during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) were presented with medals.

The move highlighted the friendship between China and Russia that was forged with lives and blood during the war, and Russian President Vladimir Putin was officially invited to attend a parade in China on September 3 to celebrate the victory over the Japanese.

President Xi Jinping took advantage of the Chinese presence at the Moscow celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Great Patriotic War - the Russian term for World War II - to lay the foundations for China's own celebration.