China shows off victory over Japan logo

China on Monday unveiled its official logo for the forthcoming commemorations of victory over Japan 70 years ago, invoking both peace in the form of doves and robust nationalism with Communist colours and imagery of the Great Wall.

The symbol is centred around a large red-coloured "70" for the years since 1945 and what Beijing calls the end of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Five flying doves ascend from right to left, starting in red and ending in yellow, and the lower part depicts a V-shaped Great Wall.

The logo's dominant colours are red and yellow, the same as the ruling Communist Party and China's post-1949 national flag.

The state-run Xinhua news agency, citing the State Council Information Office (SCIO), said the V of the wall represents China's national unity as well as the usual meaning of victory.

The five doves "demonstrate the memory of history and the aspiration for peace, representing people from the five continents united and moving together towards a beautiful future after going through 'blood and fire'," Xinhua said.

The birds "also symbolise the Chinese people are flying to a future of great rejuvenation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China", Xinhua added.

The phrasing is a reference to President Xi Jinping's much-quoted concept of a "Chinese dream".

The logo's release comes in the run-up to the centrepiece of the commemorations, a huge military parade through Beijing on September 3 -- the day after the anniversary of Japanese forces' formal surrender.

As well as victory over Japan, the events are also meant to mark the broader global defeat of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, regimes that were bound with Tokyo in the Axis alliance.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will attend, and China's defence ministry has confirmed Russian troops will take part in the event.

Moscow held its own parade in May to celebrate victory over Nazi Germany, watched by Xi.

Most Western leaders stayed away due to lingering tensions over Moscow's annexation of Crimea and the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.

They are also expected to shun the Beijing parade, which will pass through Tiananmen Square, where student-led protestors demanded democratic reforms in 1989 before the Communist Party sent in troops to crush the demonstrations.

Beijing's Changan Avenue, which runs along the north side of the square, has been equipped with "an explosion proof layer underneath" ahead of the parade, the Global Times newspaper reported on Monday.

The extra padding was for "security and air defence purposes", the paper said, citing a report in the online chinanews.com.