Most Western leaders are not expected to attend the parade, due to their opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has driven the sanctions against Putin's regime.

Beijing, however, has not criticised Putin's war and has been accused by the US and its allies of even aiding it - which it denies. Kim, on the other hand, has supplied both weapons and troops to the Russian invasion.

The list of leaders attending the parade also reflects China's rise and its changing relationship with the world.

The Indonesia president and Malaysian prime minister will be there, which is further proof of Beijing's concerted efforts to ramp up ties with neighbouring South East Asia. Others like Singapore are sending lower- level representatives.

Myanmar's military ruler Min Aung Hliang, an international pariah who is hugely dependent on Chinese trade and aid, will also be attending.

There will be fewer European Union officials, with just one EU leader attending - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico - while Bulgaria and Hungary will send representatives.

In contrast, Czech President Milos Zeman attended the 2015 parade, while Poland, France, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK sent parliamentary speakers or government envoys to the parade.

Additional reporting by Ian Tang from BBC Monitoring