Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto Photo: Qian Jiayin/GT

"That was a very spectacular event showcasing the capacity of China, which is also remarkable," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto hailed China's V-Day military parade in an exclusive interview with the Global Times on Wednesday, after China held a massive military parade in Tian'anmen Square, central Beijing, to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Minister Szijjarto attended the V-day event as a representative of Hungary.

On Wednesday morning, Tian'anmen Square was adorned with fluttering flags and resounding military music. President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, oversaw the parade and reviewed the troops.

Szijjarto told GT, "we know that this day is very important for the Chinese people. With my presence on behalf of the Hungarian government, we wanted to show respect to the Chinese people, and we wanted to show how important it is for us to have a foundation of this relationship based on mutual respect."

According to the Xinhua News Agency, more than 10,000 military personnel, along with over 100 aircraft and hundreds of ground armaments, were arranged into formations according to a wartime command system. The People's Liberation Army's (PLA) new system of services and arms was put on display for the first time.

"China is a well-structured country where all major events are taking place according to plans," said Szijjarto. "It's obvious that organizing such an event requires huge efforts, and these efforts have been completed 100 percent," Szijjarto added. 

This was the second time since 2015 that China has held a military parade to commemorate the hard-won victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Szijjarto mentioned that he had attended the 2015 commemorative event a decade ago, giving him the opportunity to compare what he had seen at that time with what he saw today. "I have to tell you there's a huge forward progress. Within 10 years, I have basically seen totally new things, which shows the fact that China is developing extremely quickly," he added.

Over 20 foreign leaders attended China's V-Day commemorations in Beijing, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Additionally, nearly 50 leaders, former political dignitaries, high-level officials, diplomatic envoys to China and friendly personages from 30 European countries participated in the event, according to Xinhua.  

Szijjarto noted that the extensive presence undoubtedly signifies the formation of a multipolar world order. He added, "we argue against the world being distributed into blocks. We argue in favor of global connectivity and mutually respect-based global cooperation. History shows very clearly that whenever there is civilized cooperation between the Eastern and Western worlds, we gain significant benefits and profits from it."