President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders mounted the Tiananmen Rostrum ahead of the V-Day military parade Thursday morning.[Special coverage]
It will be Xi's first time to review the armed forces as China's top leader.
He was joined by other leaders Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli, as well as former leaders Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao.
