China is inviting foreign troops to participate in a military parade for the first time. It will also be a milestone for President Xi Jinping, who took over as Communist Party leader and military chief in late 2012.

The parade on Sept. 3 will involve about 12,000 Chinese troops and 200 aircraft, Qi Rui, deputy director of the government office organizing the parade, told reporters in Beijing on Friday.

The parade is part of a series of high-level events organized to mark Japan's defeat 70 years ago. It is unclear whether Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would attend any of the events, and Chinese officials have not said whether or not he was extended a formal invitation.

Sino-Japan relations have long been affected by what China sees as Japan's failure to atone for its occupation of parts of the country before and during the war. Western and Chinese historians estimate millions of Chinese civilians were killed.

Japan needs details of China's plans for the Sept 3. events before it decides if Prime Minister Abe will visit Beijing then for a summit with President Xi, a Japanese government source told Reuters on Thursday.