Enormous intercontinental ballistic missiles, new underwater drones, laser weapons and other military hardware paraded across Beijing’s Tiananmen Square for 90 minutes on Wednesday — a commemoration of 80 years since the Japanese surrender that ended World War II and a showcase of modern Chinese military might.

But many eyes were on the world leaders Chinese President Xi Jinping invited to the event, especially Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Images from the event showed the three, who appeared together in public for the first time, shaking hands, standing side-by-side and walking together down a red carpet. They spoke repeatedly during the event.

It was a moment, the E.U.’s foreign policy chief said, that wasn’t just symbolic.

“Looking at President Xi standing al

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