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When Chinese leader Xi Jinping organised his first parade to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II, in 2015, he placed his two predecessors by his side in a show of respect and continuity of leadership. Ten years on and having eliminated domestic opposition as he serves an unprecedented third term as president, Xi was flanked on Wednesday at the 80th anniversary parade by Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Chinese Communist Party leaders were interspersed among overseas guests. The parade followed Xi’s high-profile summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a weekend meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tianjin, and the Chinese leader’s rare visit to Tibet last month. This display of diplomatic clout, stamina and geopolitical ambition has helped quell concerns among some China observers about the 72-year-old president’s vitality, linked to sporadic absences and — so far unknown — succession plans. It has also helped divert domestic attention from slow...5493 items