Serbia holds military parade, underscoring spirit of national unity

Serbia on Saturday held a "Power of Unity" military parade in front of the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade, marking the Day of Serbian Unity, Freedom and the National Flag.

The event opened with the Serbian national anthem performed by the Guard Orchestra of the Army. Military Academy cadets then carried a 300-meter-long Serbian national flag across the square, underscoring the spirit of national unity.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the parade brought together about 10,000 personnel and featured some 2,500 pieces of weaponry and equipment, including more than 600 vehicles, 70 aircraft and 20 naval vessels.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic attended the parade. High-profile delegations from Bosnia and Herzegovina entity Republika Srpska, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and others, joined Serbian officials at the ceremony

Over 47,000 spectators watched the military parade on-site on Saturday.

"I am proud of the state of Serbia, the Serbian Army and the Serbian Ministry of Defense, because of everything we had the opportunity to see today. What is perhaps even more important is the large number of gathered residents who warmly greeted everything that was presented," said Mladen Mijatovic, a Serbian journalist reporting the event on site.

The Chinese-made HQ-22 surface-to-air missile system and the HQ-17 air defense missile system made an appearance at the parade.

"I heard that Serbia's military parade would include Chinese weapons and equipment. I've been a military enthusiast since I was a child. When I heard this, I was really excited, and really wanted to come and see the parade," said Zhang Canyuan, a Chinese spectator.

China's outstanding aggregate social financing -- the total amount of financing to the real economy -- reached 442.12 trillion yuan (about 63.4 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2025, up 8.3 percent year on year, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The country's aggregate social financing stood at 35.6 trillion yuan (about 5.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up by 3.34 trillion yuan (about 479 billion U.S. dollars) from the year 2024, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank.

According to the data, the M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 8.5 percent year on year to 340.29 trillion yuan (about 48.8 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of December.

In addition, outstanding yuan loans stood at 271.91 trillion yuan (about 39 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2025, up 6.4 percent year on year.