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Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the world was facing a choice of “peace or war” and “dialogue or confrontation.”
Trump urged the Chinese leader to recognize U.S. contributions to helping secure China’s freedom, while alleging Xi was conspiring against U.S.
The heavily choreographed military parade showcases some of the country’s domestically made, newest weapons and military equipment.

The guard of honor of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army escorting flags of the Party, the nation and the PLA, passing through Tiananmen Square during a parade on Sept. 3, 2025 in Beijing, China.
Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images

BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that the world was facing a choice of “peace or war” and “dialogues or confrontation” as the country hosts its largest military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
The speech came as U.S. President Donald Trump in a post on Truth Social urged the Chinese leader to recognize U.S. contributions to helping secure China’s freedom, while alleging that Beijing was conspiring against Washington.

“Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America,” Trump said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un are among the leaders from more than 20 countries attending the “Victory Day” military parade in Beijing at Tiananmen Square. China is hosting a reception following the parade, and an evening gala.
It is unlikely that the gathering of Putin and Kim in Beijing would derail the ongoing U.S.-China trade talks as both sides appeared to favor moving toward a deal in the coming months, said Neil Thomas, fellow for China politics at Asia Society.
That said, “the fact that China has this increased gravitational pull in regional diplomacy is telling about the progress that it [has] been able to make, especially when there’s increased uncertainty about whether Washington wants to do trade and investment deals with countries in Asia,” he added.
U.S.-China tensions escalated in April with steep tit-for-tat tariffs. The two sides have since agreed to remove most of the added duties until mid-November, with hopes that an in-person meeting of Trump and Xi in coming months could ease the friction.

In his speech Wednesday, Xi also pledged to bolster the country’s military capabilities.
Without naming Taiwan, the democratically self-ruled island that China claims as its own, Xi emphasized the role of Chinese military in defending the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to a CNBC translation of his speech in Chinese.
The parade featured missiles, military trucks, tanks, autonomous vehicles and other equipment rumbling past Tiananmen Square, soldiers goose-stepping in formation and fighter jets roaring over the capital, as China showcases its military prowess.
The heavily choreographed event was designed to showcase some of the country’s domestically made, newer weapons and equipment.
Official parade narrators also highlighted China’s efforts focused on ensuring internet and information security.
“The foreign delegations in attendance will demonstrate shifting patterns in Chinese influence, with Western leaders largely absent,” Jeremy Chan, senior analyst, China and northeast Asia, Eurasia Group, said in a note. He pointed out that eight leaders from Southeast Asia will attend, reflecting China’s growing regional influence.
“South Korea’s president declined China’s invitation, while Kim’s surprise attendance is a sign of warming ties between Beijing and Pyongyang,” Chan said. “China is likely seeking to keep Kim close in the face of growing cooperation between North Korea and Russia, as well as renewed diplomatic outreach from Seoul and Washington to Pyongyang.”
North Korea has reportedly sent troops to Russia in support of its war against Ukraine, while Beijing has refused to call Moscow’s attack an invasion and sought to take on a peacemaker role. The U.S. has accused Beijing of supporting Russia’s military, which China has denied.

Kim’s daughter in China

Experts in North Korean affairs pointed out that the attendance of Kim’s daughter Kim Ju Ae at a major international diplomatic event should be taken seriously.
“The fact that Kim Ju Ae stood directly behind Kim Jong Un and observed Chinese senior officials, including Foreign Minister Want Yi, greeting KJU shows that Kim Ju Ae continues to receive the protocol treatment equivalent to North Korea’s ‘second-in-command’ even when abroad,” Cheong Seong-Chang, vice president of the Sejong Institute, a think-tank in Seoul, told NBC News on Tuesday.
Many of the Beijing military parade attendees — including Putin — were also in Tianjin over the weekend for the largest-ever summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not stay for the parade — his photo and video with Putin and Xi in Tianjin, sharing a laugh, on the sidelines of the summit had gone viral.
Xi sat next to Putin at a similar military parade in Moscow in May. The two leaders met Tuesday in Beijing, and the countries signed a legally binding deal to build the long-delayed Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline. 

Past parade attendees

China last held a military parade in 2019 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s rule. Speaking from the iconic city gate overlooking Tiananmen Square, Xi said at the time that “no force can stop the Chinese people and the Chinese nation forging ahead.”
The Chinese leader, who assumed the presidency in 2013, abolished term limits in 2018.
Putin had attended China’s military parade in 2015 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, according to Chinese state media.
Park Geun-hye, then president of South Korea, had attended, as did government representatives of the U.S. and France, the 2015 report said, noting that other attendees included former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
China calls Wednesday’s parade the “80th anniversary of the country’s victory against Japanese aggression and the world’s victory against fascism.” It ended with the release of doves, symbolizing peace, and colored balloons. More

Eric Trump, the American president’s second son, has been called “the top diplomat of the bitcoin nation”. Last month his mission took him to the People’s Republic of China, where he spoke in Hong Kong at Bitcoin Asia, a conference dedicated to the original cryptocurrency. What is it trading at today, he asked, while on stage: “112-113,000”. The correct answer ($110,143) was right behind him, continuously updated on a big screen. More

Pepsi soft drinks are displayed at a convenience store in San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

PepsiCo shares popped Tuesday after Elliott Investment Management took a significant stake as the activist investor sees a “rare” and “historic” opportunity for a turnaround in the iconic soft drink giant.
Shares of PepsiCo climbed more than 5% in premarket trading. The stock is down about 2% this year, significantly lagging the broader market.

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The Paul Singer-founded Elliott’s bet in Pepsi is worth $4 billion, becoming the consumer giant’s top five active investors excluding index funds, according to FactSet. The activist investor sent a presentation and letter to Pepsi’s board of directors Tuesday, detailing a clear agenda focused on restoring business momentum.
“While unfortunate, this disappointing trajectory has created a historic opportunity: With the right mindset and an appropriately ambitious turnaround plan, PepsiCo today represents a rare chance to revitalize a leading global enterprise and unlock significant shareholder value,” Elliott wrote in its letter.
The Wall Street Journal first reported Elliott’s new stake earlier Tuesday.
Elliott said it hopes to work together to help Pepsi build on its legacy of success and achieve its full potential.
Pepsi has been cutting costs and trying to improve its profit margins. The company closed two manufacturing plants for its North American food business during the quarter. Pepsi said it is trying to make its transportation and logistics more efficient. The company is also evaluating how it spends its marketing dollars to make sure it is getting the best return on its investment.

In July, Pepsi reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analysts’ expectations, as the company projected that weak North American demand will rebound as strategy changes take hold.
Elliott, with over $70 billion in assets under management, has a long history of activism that has at times yielded strong returns for investors. It’s a large holder of Phillips 66 and Southwest Airlines and has been driving changes at those two companies.
The firm was also famously involved in a 15-year legal battle against the government of Argentina over defaulted bonds. Elliott ended up getting a settlement payment of $2.4 billion, representing a massive return on its initial investment.  More

Online sales of pickleball paddles and related equipment in China have skyrocketed by more than six times versus the first seven months of last year.
Interest in tennis and pickleball in the Asian country accelerated last year and is “still doing very well” this year, according to McKinsey.
Last weekend, the U.S.-based Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) held its first “Hong Kong Open” competition as part of the inaugural PPA Tour Asia.

Sports club Suzhou Shishan opened the Chinese city’s first pickleball court in January 2024, according to the company.
Suzhou Shishan

BEIJING — While the U.S. pickleball craze is still going strong, China’s is only just getting started.
Online sales of pickleball paddles and related equipment in China have skyrocketed this year to an average of $1.2 million in monthly sales as of July — an increase of more than six-fold versus the year-ago period.

That’s according to data from WPIC Marketing + Technologies. The company helps foreign brands — such as Ohio-based food blender seller Vitamix and skincare brand iS Clinical from California — sell online in China and other parts of Asia.
“Pickleball’s rise in China reflects a broader shift toward active lifestyles and recreational sports participation,” said Jacob Cooke, co-founder and CEO of WPIC.
The racquet sport has been getting a lift from social media influencers and the resurgence of tennis in China, thanks in part to Chinese tennis player Zheng Qinwen winning the country’s first Olympic gold medal in tennis singles last summer, Cooke said.

Interest in tennis and pickleball in China started in 2023, accelerated in 2024 and is “still doing very well” this year, said Daniel Zipser, senior partner at McKinsey and leader of its Asia consumer and retail division. “We’re still now in the very strong acceleration growth momentum [period] for racquet sports more broadly.”
He pointed out that locals are not just increasingly picking up the sport, but also watching professional games more.

During the U.S.-based Professional Pickleball Association’s (PPA) first “Hong Kong Open” competition from Aug. 21 to Aug. 24, “there was actually a pretty big crowd that came out [to watch the] final gold medal matches,” said Patrick Yan, founder of The Brine Agency, which represents Asian pickleball players. “The entire tournament was maxed out and with a waitlist.”
Yan also noted that the Hong Kong region now has many more pickleball courts compared to only two when he visited in December and January.
The Hong Kong Open was part of the inaugural PPA Tour Asia that includes matches in Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Jack Wong of Hong Kong won the men’s singles championship, while Roos van Reek of the Netherlands won in women’s singles. The PPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether a “China Slam” initially set for early October was moving ahead as planned.
The PPA held its first U.S. pickleball tournament in Arizona in early 2020. The sport surged in popularity during the pandemic as communities quickly repurposed public spaces into free pickleball courts. Since then, pickleball has been the fastest-growing sport in the United States for four straight years, according to the latest Sports and Fitness Industry Association report in May.

Business angle

Pickleball’s recent growth in China has different business implications.
In contrast to U.S. suburbs, big Asian cities don’t tend to have large neighborhood spaces, Yan pointed out. “All these courts have to be built by people running businesses. They’re operating for profit…. People started seeing it could be a huge profit, all these competing businesses and startups.”
He added that the local pickleball tournament system is run by the national Chinese Tennis Association, making the sport’s development “quite systemized in comparison to other countries where it’s local organizations that have to organize and fund everything.”
Lu Bing, deputy head of the Suzhou Pickleball Association, said he learned about pickleball from an American friend in 2023. Subsequently, the local Shishan sports club that he is general manager of opened several pickleball courts, where hourly fees start at 60 yuan ($8.39). He added that many local schools are also encouraging students to play the sport by repurposing basketball courts and other facilities, he said.
Part of pickleball’s appeal in China is how easy it is for locals to learn the sport — some people still found tennis too hard after a few lessons at the sports club, he added.

Challenges and opportunities

While Lu said the club is an authorized sales partner for Joola, a U.S. pickleball brand, it’s less clear how easily other foreign brands and organizations can immediately tap into the trend.
Despite China’s large potential compared to Vietnam and Malaysia, which are Asia’s largest pickleball markets, it can be difficult for foreign businesses to navigate the Asian giant’s market due to language barriers and the unique WeChat messaging app-based ecosystem, Yan said.
“I know eventually probably some courts will go out of business and some will survive and take over the market in certain areas,” he said. “Because it’s so early into the market, a lot of people are trying to be the first mover basically.”
The surge of consumer spending on pickleball and other sports in China comes as overall retail sales have been subdued since the pandemic.
McKinsey’s Zipser said he’s “very confident” about a pickup in consumption in the second half of this year into 2026, as he thinks consumer spending is now more detached from depressed sentiment.
“The last two years the consumer was just waiting for the good old days to be back,” he said, pointing to hopes for a recovery in the property market and broad double-digit growth.
“People now have realized [that’s] not going to happen,” he said. “They’ve moved on. They’re no longer sitting there. … Life needs to go on.” More

For most people the covid-19 pandemic ended years ago. But not for commercial-property investors and their lenders. Working from home prompted an office slump that lasted far longer than mask mandates and lockdowns. Starting in 2022 aggressive interest-rate rises hurt the sector even more, by making mortgage loans far more expensive to roll over. The banks that financed it, especially the smaller ones, have been brutally squeezed as credit quality has deteriorated. More

Just as the inflationary heat is rising again in America, much of Asia is feeling a chill. Leave aside the hotspots—Japan and Bangladesh—and the average rate across the continent’s ten biggest economies is a tame 1.3%. Consumer prices have fallen outright in China, the biggest of all, and in Thailand. Other Asian economies, including the Philippines, are not far from deflation. Even in inflation-prone India prices rose by just 1.6% in the year to July, the slowest rate since 2017. In some Asian economies inflation is within central bankers’ target ranges. But in five it is now below these, and even in on-target countries the trend is disinflationary. More

The meeting comes as China seeks to cast itself as a global peacemaker.
Chinese President Xi Jinping briefly gathered with Modi and Putin ahead of his opening speech.
Analysts said that China’s détente with India could help strengthen Beijing’s influence.
China’s Xi also proposed a Global Governance Initiative at the SCO Summit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers his opening remarks at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Tianjin on Sept. 1, 2025.
Evelyn Cheng

TIANJIN, China — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday urged members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to strengthen artificial intelligence cooperation, while rejecting what he called a “Cold War mentality.”
Xi was speaking at the largest-ever summit of the SCO to date, with more than 20 foreign leaders gathered in Tianjin, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The meeting comes as China seeks to cast itself as a global peacemaker, against a backdrop of persistent trade tensions with the United States, Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Xi said China has invested $84 billion in other SCO countries and pledged support for 10,000 students to join Beijing’s “Luban” vocational education program. He added that the SCO gathering presents an opportunity to chart a new phase of high-quality development and cooperation.
Ahead of his remarks, Xi briefly gathered with Modi and Putin during a photo session with all SCO members.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (front L) speaks with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) and China’s President Xi Jinping during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin on September 1, 2025.
Alexander Kazakov | Afp | Getty Images

Xi is expected to meet with Putin this week, with the Russian leader scheduled to stay in China for a military parade in Beijing to commemorate 80 years since the end of World War II.
Over the weekend, Xi met with at least 10 visiting leaders, including Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet. On Saturday, he met Modi, with both sides affirming the importance of being partners, not rivals, according to official readouts.

“A stable relationship and cooperation between India and China and their 2.8 billion peoples on the basis of mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity are necessary for the growth and development of the two countries,” India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement following the meeting.

Global peacemaker?

While it remains unclear if the SCO summit will pave the way for any breakthroughs in easing tensions, analysts said that China’s détente with India could help strengthen Beijing’s influence.
“The improvement of relations with India is a big deal. It allows India to access highly critical intellectual property that it needs if it is to industrialize and boost manufacturing,” Marko Papic, chief strategist, GeoMacro Strategy BCA Access, said in an email.
“But, over the long term, the U.S. is losing the propaganda battle to paint China as the trouble-maker-in-chief. And that only further ossifies multipolarity,” he said.

Participants of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit 2025 pose for photos at the Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Centre on September 1, 2025 in Tianjin, China.
Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images

China has taken some “initiative” for economic collaboration as well as peace, said Henry Huiyao Wang, founder and president of the Beijing-based think tank Center for China and Globalization. He also pointed to efforts by China and India to rebuild ties and said he hoped India and Pakistan would do the same.
“[U.S.] President Trump is trying to make a lot of peace, but I think with the help of China, we could do the same too,” Wang said Monday on CNBC’s “The China Connection.”
“China could take advantage of its good relations with Russia to help [broker] the deal for the Russian war in Ukraine,” Wang said, adding that the SCO, or members like China and India, could act as a guarantor for security.
The SCO summit could lead to China building better relations with a slew of countries, Papic said.
SCO leaders signed a “Tianjin Declaration” and approved a development plan for the organization for the next decade through 2035, according to Chinese state media. Details of the text were not immediately available, although the report said members adopted 24 documents on strengthening cooperation on security, the economy and “humanity.”
China will also establish cooperation platforms on new energy, green industry and digital economy, as well as centers for tech innovation, higher education and vocational education, Xi announced during a Monday afternoon session.
Later in the day, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said that the leaders agreed to launch the SCO Development Bank. He cast the financial institution as yet another multilateral bank. China has led the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is headquartered in Beijing.
“Global governance must be achieved by coordination and cooperation, not by unilateral bullying,” Wang said in Mandarin, according to an official English translation, as he took a question about the Global Governance Initiative.

New ‘Global Governance Initiative’

Xi’s opening remarks during the Monday afternoon session included a proposal for a “Global Governance Initiative” without disclosing further details.
It follows similar programs that Xi has announced in the last few years, such as the “Global Development Initiative” and “Global Security Initiative.” In late July, Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced that the country has put forward an AI cooperation organization.
“The Cold War mentality, hegemonism and protectionism remain,“ despite 80 years of peace and cooperation since the end of World War II, Xi said in Mandarin, according to an official English translation. “New threats and challenges are only increasing.”
“Global governance has come to a new crossroads,” he said, urging “commitment to peaceful coexistence” without targeting third parties.
In the context of calling for uniform application of the international rule of law, the Chinese president said: that “the house rules of a few countries should not be imposed upon others.”
— CNBC’s Victoria Yeo contributed to this report More

President Donald Trump’s efforts to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook could jeopardize the central bank’s independence, according to longtime investor Rebecca Patterson.
“We shouldn’t ignore this at all. This is a big deal what’s going on,” the former Bridgewater Associates chief investment strategist told CNBC’s “Fast Money” this week.

Patterson, now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, has spent more than two decades analyzing how politics and policy shape global markets. She cautions that politicizing the Fed could erode its legitimacy and have long-term economic consequences.
Drawing from her economics research on countries that have lost institutional integrity, Patterson notes a familiar pattern: weaker stock market performances, higher inflation and long-term yields, depreciating currencies, and reduced foreign direct investment.
Patterson warns that the United States’ unique role as the world’s largest economy does not make it immune.
She warns that replacing Cook would likely be Trump’s first move to stack the Fed with loyal policymakers who will push for lower rates.
Patterson thinks markets may initially react positively to lower rates. However, she warns that the longer-term effects could be damaging.

“In the short-term, investors might reason that lower rates supporting growth are good for earnings,” she wrote in a special email to CNBC. “Over time, though, sustained higher inflation is going to hurt consumption which will get reflected in earnings expectations.”
If Trump gains greater control over the Fed, she thinks it will steepen the yield curve, boost inflation expectations, weaken the dollar, and spark higher gold prices.
The question in Patterson’s mind isn’t whether politicizing the Fed will have consequences — it’s when.
“Our moment might not come as quickly or easily,” she said during the interview. “But looking at other countries who have gone down this road, [it] tells us where we’re headed if we’re not careful.”

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