China's Xi steals the limelight in a defiant push against US-led world order

As the cannon fire echoed through Tiananmen Square, even before the first set of troops goose-stepped their way through Beijing's central avenue, the day's most enduring image unfolded. China's President Xi Jinping welcomed North Korea's Kim Jong Un with a long handshake, then moved on to greet Russia's Vladimir Putin, and then walked to his seat, flanked by two of the world's most sanctioned leaders.

It was sheer political theatre. And it was this meeting - rather than the weaponry - that appears to have irked US President Donald Trump.

As the parade began, Trump sent a sharply-worded message on Truth Social, accusing the three leaders of conspiring against America. This may well have been the reaction President Xi had hoped for as he kept Putin to his right and Kim to his left throughout the parade. The moment may have even been designed to infuriate a US president who would perhaps prefer to be the centre of the world's attention.

Read more