China struggles after Chairman Xi Jinping’s golden era

Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing is well used to the growl of armoredvehicle engines, clouds of diesel exhaust and the clanking of tank tracks. On 4 June 1989, it was People's Liberation Army (PLA) ruthlessly putting down student-led protests, but in more recent times it has been military parades driving past Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders in the Tiananmen Gate seated high above the masses.

Chairman Xi Jinping and his predecessors typically hold military parades in Tiananmen Square on National Day, 1 October. The last such parade under Xi was on 1 October 2019, plus before that, he hosted one in September 2015 commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

However, on 1 October 2024, activity in central Beijing carried on as usual, with Tiananmen Square merely lined with flower beds and national flags.

There was no parade, there was no fanfare, there was no gala atmosphere, and there was no assembling of the world's media to witness the technological and military might of the PLA.

Why not? The Chinese government has been mute on when the next military parade will occur. Certainly, 2024 would have been ideal for a military parade, given that it marks the 75th anniversary of modern China's founding.

The whole situation is emblematic of the struggle in which Xi and the CCP now find themselves. In 2019the time of the last parade -China was enjoying a vigorous golden era under Xi.