Millions of Chinese people were killed during a prolonged war with imperial Japan in the 1930s and 40s, which merged with the global conflagration following Tokyo's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Beijing's Communist Party has held a series of blockbuster events in recent years to commemorate its wartime resistance, vowing that China will never be brought to its knees in such a way again.

The parade on September 3 will see President Xi Jinping inspect troops in Tiananmen Square, according to Wu Zeke, an official at China's military commission.

The Kremlin has said Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend, and Chinese officials said other world leaders are also expected to take in the scene.

The commemorations will feature ground troops marching in formation, armoured columns, aerial echelons and other high-tech fighting gear, Wu told a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

State news agency Xinhua said the event would also show off "new types of combat forces including unmanned, intelligent equipment".

Officials did not specify which weapons would be showcased but said they would include Chinese-made, high-precision equipment ready to fight the "battles of the future".

The parade would help to rally the entire country in shared patriotic spirit around the party and Xi, and bring "the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" even closer, Wu said.

- Wartime legacy -

After seizing a swath of northeastern China in the early 1930s, the Japanese imperial army launched a full-scale invasion of the country in 1937, costing millions of lives.

The war ended with Japan's surrender in 1945, but China then descended into a civil war that only ended with the Communist Party's victory in 1949.

China's wartime experiences have continued to shape regional geopolitics ever since, especially its ties with Japan.

At the 70th anniversary parade in 2015, China held a 70-gun salute as thousands of troops marched in tight formation through Tiananmen Square.

Tanks and missiles followed, while nearly 200 aircraft performed a flypast in powder-blue skies.

Chinese authorities mobilised hundreds of thousands of spectators, closed roads across much of the city centre, shuttered airports and curtailed pollution-spewing factories and vehicles to ensure blue skies.

Tuesday's announcement comes less than two weeks after US President Donald Trump hosted the largest American military parade in decades on his 79th birthday.