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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

‘Setting sun’: on Trump’s parade day, Chinese media see a US in decline

Trump drew on fighting words in a speech after the parade, but Chinese media says US faces ‘uncertain tomorrow amid gunfire and slogans’

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US Army soldiers take part in the 250th birthday parade on June 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
Kawala Xie
Chinese state media were quick to declare the decline of the United States as protests throughout the country highlighted social divisions and overshadowed the pageantry of a large military parade in Washington on the weekend.
The three-hour parade on Saturday was the first in the US in decades and staged to mark the 250th anniversary of the US Army. The event also coincided with the birthday of US President Donald Trump.

But as soldiers and tanks were rolling past Trump in Washington, protesters were out in force across the nation in opposition to the president’s policies.

02:01

US holds first major military parade after 34 years to honour army’s 250th anniversary

US holds first major military parade after 34 years to honour army’s 250th anniversary
In China, some state media and online commentators declared Trump’s “America first” policy a failure in light of the mass demonstrations, saying the contrast with the parade reflected the United States’ “uncertain future”.
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“The parade reflects [Trump’s] urgency to proclaim that ‘America is great again’ … Yet, no matter how it’s staged, it only reinforces the sense that the halo of the United States is fading, and its deep-rooted institutional problems remain unresolved,” state-run Beijing Daily said in a commentary.

“Instead, it evokes deja vu of ‘the setting sun’s afterglow’ and ‘a past that cannot be reclaimed’.”

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Chinanews.com, another state-run outlet, said the day symbolised how “democracy is struggling in the mud”.

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