A TV screen shows Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arriving for a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, at a waiting room for media personnel in Beijing, China September 3, 2025. REUTERS/Florence Lo

(Reuters) -Over 25 foreign heads of state or government attended a massive military parade in Beijing on Wednesday, as Chinese President Xi Jinping seeks to cast the country as the custodian of a post-U.S. international order.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were the guests of honour, and flanked Xi at the parade.

Others who attended were:

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko

Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel

Vietnamese President Luong Cuong

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev

Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov

Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu

Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh

Myanmar military chief Min Aung Hlaing

Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif

Republic of the Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic

Slovak Prime Minister Roberto Fico

Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon

Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdymukhamedov

Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa

(Compiled by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Michael Perry)