The People's Republic of China will commemorate its World War II victory over Japan with a parade, featuring the biggest display of its military force on Thursday, Channel News Asia reported.

The 70th anniversary of the end of WWII will be held in central Beijing, but some Western countries and Asian governments, including Japan, have avoided the event.

According to the New York Times, about 12,000 Chinese officers with some Russian contingents will march through Beijing's central Tiananmen Square with Chinese leaders, foreign guests, and media personnel seated at the square.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will preside over the parade. The country's biggest event of the year would be a good headline, considering China's dropping stock market prices, down economy, and the recent chemical warehouse blast.

Channel News Asia reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin will grace the event, as well as other national leaders with close ties to China, including Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is notoriously wanted for genocide and war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

Most Western leaders will not attend and ignored the invitations. They are said to be unhappy about the list of delegates and are suspicious that China is just trying to send a message to countries near South China Sea. The Chinese government already asserted their military dominance over some ASEAN countries due to territorial disputes.

The parade will show a variety of weaponry that has never been seen by the public, including ballistic missiles, tanks and armoured vehicles. Fighter jets and bombers will fly overhead as the parade goes on.

The official press agency of the People's Republic of China, Xinhua said in an English-language commentary as quoted by Channel News Asia that, "For decades, when people in Western countries talk about WWII, they usually refer to the battles on the European continent and have little knowledge about China's role as the major oriental theatre of the war."

You can watch the event via live stream on this link.