Beijing | Fighter jets will roar over Beijing and tanks will rumble past Tiananmen Square on Wednesday when China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, presides over an elaborate military parade designed to stoke national pride and show off China’s diplomatic heft.

More than two dozen leaders, mostly authoritarian, are expected to attend. Joining Xi are President Vladimir Putin of Russia, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran – the first time the leaders of the four countries will gather in the same place.