“The cold stage of World War III has begun”: a professor on China’s parade and the new axis of power
2 September 2025 19:17
More than two dozen leaders of authoritarian and pro-Russian regimes have already arrived in Beijing. Among them are Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, and the leaders of Iran and Belarus. China is demonstrating a large-scale military parade dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. But this date is not just about the past for China.
It is a show of strength and a bid for a new world order. Experts believe that World War III may not look like frontal battles with tanks, but rather a global confrontation between blocs. Komersant investigated whether the world is really on the verge of a new confrontation between the West and the East and why experts are talking about the beginning of the cold stage of the Third World War.
Xi Jinping is eager to show off the latest weapons, emphasize military power and declare China as the center of an alternative world alliance.
“This is an attempt to impose his own version of history and at the same time show a world in which Beijing is the guardian of the international order,” explains Scott Kennedy, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The parade was the culmination of geopolitical changes. Just a few years ago, Putin was ignored on key international platforms, and even China and India showed distance because of the war against Ukraine. Now, the situation has changed: at the SCO summit in Tianjin, the Russian leader was in the spotlight, shaking hands with Iranian and Turkish politicians, joking with Modi and Xi.
It is significant that the final document of the summit did not mention Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the largest war in Europe since World War II. Thus, the military parade in Beijing is turning not into a historical memory but into a symbol of a new global confrontation, where Xi, Putin, and Kim are trying to secure their own version of the future.
A new axis of power
The large-scale military parade in Beijing, where Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un appeared alongside Xi Jinping, signaled the formation of a new geopolitical bloc. Serhiy Yahodzinsky, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Vice-Rector of the European University, commented on whether the world is really entering a phase of a “new axis of power.”
“I am not inclined to call it an ‘axis of evil’. Rather, it is a part of countries that have their own scenarios for the development of the world – economic, political, and cultural. They are significantly different from what we call the collective West,” said Serhiy Yahodzinsky.
According to Yahodzinsky, the SCO and BRICS countries are building an alternative model of cooperation that is fundamentally different from Western concepts.
The professor emphasized that Ukraine mentally and historically belongs to the “collective West” because freedom, dignity, and human rights are important to us. At the same time, countries such as China, Russia, or Iran are increasingly challenging the United States and Europe.
“What was done in whispers yesterday is happening publicly today – Putin is being given a red carpet. This is a demarche against the Western format of globalization,” emphasized Serhiy Yahodzinsky.
The professor is convinced that today we are witnessing a new geopolitical reality.
“In fact, the cold stage of the Third World War has begun. We are talking about redistribution of spheres of influence, information space, creation of alternative economic and financial models. I do not exclude that this axis of power will be able to build even its own payment system or a new model of the Internet. It is impossible to ignore these realities, because the members of the SCO and BRICS represent half of the world’s population,” explained Sergiy Yagodzinsky.
Mr. Yahodzinsky did not ignore the US factor. He says this situation is very dangerous for Washington.
“That is why Donald Trump in his election program emphasizes the need to end the war in Ukraine. Not because he sympathizes with Ukrainians, but because the war mobilizes around Russia, China and other countries of the so-called new axis,” Serhiy Yahodzinsky said.
Europe’s behavior is strange
At the same time, Europe, according to the professor, behaves “very strangely” and does not realize the scale of the challenges.
“I have the impression that the European partners of the United States do not understand that the cold phase of the global conflict has begun. Whether it will have a hot phase remains to be seen, but it is a fact that the third world war to redistribute spheres of influence is already underway,” said Serhiy Yahodzinsky.
As for Ukraine, Yahodzinsky predicts pressure from the West.
“The meetings between Trump and Zelensky will most likely be aimed at persuasion or even threats to push Kyiv to a peace agreement. But I have no illusions: even if Ukraine agrees to make concessions, there is no guarantee that Russia will stop,” Yahodzinsky concluded.
At the same time, the professor left room for optimism. He says that the situation is threatening, but this does not mean that there is no way out of it. The main thing is not to waste time and to play on counterbalances.
