Pretoria - China will on Thursday stage a massive military parade in the heart of its capital, Beijing, to mark 70 years since the end of the Second World War and the defeat of the Japanese imperial forces in 1945.
Japan invaded China and occupied large parts of the country between the 1930s and 1940s. This invasion saw Japanese forces killing about 20 million Chinese.
The scale of the grand ceremony, with a total of 12000 troops and 500 pieces of military equipment to march through the Tian'anmen Square and nearly 200 aircraft to fly overhead in formations will be done in the presence of 30 Heads of State and Government leaders.
President Jacob Zuma, who arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, is among the global leaders attending China's Victory Day commemoration event.
China has never before held such an event since the end of WWII in 1945, while similar commemorative events were seen across Europe, which bore the impact of invasions by Nazi Germany during the war.
The spectacular military parade in central Beijing is viewed as an opportunity to showcase China's military prowess and its growing influence as a global super-power.
President Zuma will also hold bilateral discussions with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the celebrations.
The President and his delegation will assess the status of progress made in the key areas identified under the Five-to-Ten Year Strategic Programme for Cooperation as well as discuss preparations for South Africa's hosting of the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit which takes place on 4 and 5 December 2015.
According to the Presidency, the meeting will also provide an opportunity to update the two countries on developments pertaining to the African Regional Centre (ARC) with regard to the BRICS New Development Bank.
The headquarters of the recently launched BRICS Development Bank are based in Shanghai. - SAnews.gov.za-Xinhua
