BEIJING – Chinese leader Xi Jinping, speaking before a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, said Wednesday that humanity today must choose between peace and war and between dialogue and confrontation.

Xi started a brief address by remembering the victims of the war and called for eradication of the roots of war to prevent history from repeating itself.

The parade began after he spoke with troops marching in rhythmic lockstep, their boots echoing off the pavement, for a review by Xi, who is also head of China’s military as chairman of the Central Military Commission.

The parade will showcase missiles, modern fighter jets and other military might as China seeks to wield greater influence on the global stage. Some of the military hardware is on public view for the first time.

Before they started marching, Xi rode by the entire length of the formations along Beijing’s central Chang’an Avenue in a classic-style black limousine. He stood up through an opening in a roof with four microphones lined in front of him and greeted flanks of troops as he passed them and rows of missiles and military vehicles.

They shouted back mottos in unison such as “We serve the people.”

Before Xi spoke, the ceremony began with an 80-gun artillery salute to mark the 80 years since the end of the war, followed by the national anthem, the “March of the Volunteers,” a song composed in 1935 during the early years of resistance against invading Japanese forces.

Xi and his invited guests including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived earlier at the historic Tiananmen Gate to watch the parade. Xi shook hands individually with guests on a red carpet before they climbed the stairs up to the viewing platform overlooking Tiananmen Square.

Putin and Kim flanked Xi as they made their way to the platform. They paused to shake hands with five WWII veterans, some older than 100.

As the parade got underway, U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that the big question is whether Xi will recognize the contributions of Americans who fought in the war.

He added: “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America.”

Xi, in his remarks, did not mention America by name but expressed his gratitude to foreign countries who helped China resist the Japanese invasion.

Domestically, the commemoration of the anniversary is a way to show how far China has come. China was a major front in the war, a fact often overlooked in accounts that focus more on the fight for Europe and U.S. naval battles in the Pacific. A Japanese invasion before the war and the conflict itself killed millions of Chinese people.

The military parade is also a show of strength to boost support for the Communist Party and its leader, Xi, and a way to portray itself as a global alternative to the American-dominated postwar era.

A sea of people sat in clearly demarcated sections on the square across the wide avenue where the parade will pass. They waved small red flags as choirs sang patriotic songs including “Defend the Yellow River” and “No New China without the Communist Party of China.”

The ceremony began with an 80-gun artillery salute to mark the 80 years since the end of the war, followed by the national anthem, the “March of the Volunteers,” a song composed in 1935 during the early years of resistance against Japanese forces in the country.

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Associated Price writers Huizhong Wu in Beijing and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.