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13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum Opens as Dong Jun Calls for Historical Vigilance Against Risk
Reporter 欧亚时报编辑部
On September 16, 2026, the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum opened at the Beijing International Conference Center. China's Defense Minister Dong Jun attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech. This year's forum, themed "Build Consensus on Stability, Jointly Advance Security Governance," runs for three days from September 15 to 17, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the forum's founding. According to organizers, about 2,000 people are attending, including official delegations and experts and scholars from nearly 100 countries, regions and international organizations, among them more than 60 representatives at ministerial or military chief-of-staff level or above.
In his speech, Dong Jun said the world is undergoing accelerating changes unseen in a century, international security stands at a fragile juncture, and hegemonism, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise. In response, he proposed that all parties build consensus with a new security concept, safeguard stability through multilateralism, guard against risks with historical clarity, resolve problems through dialogue and consultation, lay a solid foundation through common development, and deepen cooperation through an action-oriented approach, working together toward lasting world peace and universal security. He stressed that this set of proposals is China's systematic response to the current complex and volatile international security situation, aimed at offering countries a path to security distinct from bloc confrontation and zero-sum games.
This year's forum also featured in-depth discussion of a security concept that is common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable, with participating delegates broadly agreeing that zero-sum thinking should be abandoned in favor of cooperation over confrontation. Analysts note that the new security concept and related proposals put forward by Dong Jun are in line with the Global Security Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2022. In recent years, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum has also been regarded by Chinese officials and academics as an important platform for implementing the Global Security Initiative and explaining China's security concepts to the international community.
On historical awareness, Dong Jun said all parties should bear in mind the lessons of history, remain highly vigilant against and never tolerate any latent manifestations of hegemonism, militarism and historical revisionism, rally broad forces of justice to suppress the resurgence of such historical remnants, and assess and defuse risks in a timely manner to prevent localized disputes from escalating into regional or even global crises. Observers viewed this remark as a targeted reminder amid growing disputes over historical narratives and intensifying geopolitical friction internationally.
Dong Jun also said no tolerance should be given to provocative acts that seek to hijack the overall interests of a region or country for the sake of self-interest or the interests of a narrow clique, and firmly opposed the practice of "forming cliques and adding fuel to the fire," calling on all parties to create favorable conditions for resolving hotspot issues through political means.
Dong Jun also said China supports countries in the region having full control over their own future and opposes external forces imposing interference, arguing that regional hotspot issues should be resolved mainly through dialogue and consultation among the parties directly involved and regional countries, with outside powers playing a constructive role rather than stirring up regional situations for geopolitical self-interest.
On global security governance, Dong Jun said action is the key and outcomes are the ultimate measure. He called on major powers to shoulder responsibilities commensurate with their capabilities, and urged strengthened risk assessment, experience-sharing and rule-making in emerging domains such as artificial intelligence, outer space and the deep sea, so that emerging technologies can better benefit all of humanity rather than becoming new flashpoints for confrontation.
Besides the opening ceremony, this year's forum features four plenary sessions covering the international order and strategic stability, the predicament of and solutions to local conflicts, security stability and risk challenges in the Asia-Pacific, and the role and vision of developing countries, as well as eight parallel breakout sessions focused on trends toward multipolarity and the international order, major-power relations and strategic stability, Asian approaches to security challenges, new challenges facing international arms control, resolving local conflicts and building regional security, security of sea lanes and maritime security governance, risks and management of military applications of emerging technologies, and the trajectory of space security governance. The forum will also hold high-level interviews and closed-door academic meetings addressing hot topics such as building a constructive and stable China-U.S. relationship, prospects for peace in the Middle East, and artificial intelligence and future warfare.
The Beijing Xiangshan Forum was founded in 2006 and took its name from the Xiangshan Hotel in Beijing, where it was originally held; it began as the China Association for Military Science's International Forum. It was initially held every two years, with only a few dozen delegates from just over a dozen countries, and its agenda leaned toward theoretical academic discussion. Starting with the fifth forum in 2014, it became an annual event and gradually upgraded from a purely academic "Track 2" dialogue into a "Track 1.5" high-level international security dialogue platform involving both officials and scholars. From 2018 it was formally renamed the "Beijing Xiangshan Forum," and as its scale kept growing, the venue was later moved to the Beijing International Conference Center, steadily gaining weight on the international defense diplomacy stage.
During the forum, Dong Jun is also set to hold bilateral meetings with heads of delegations from various countries to exchange views on bilateral defense relations and regional security issues. Past editions of the Xiangshan Forum have likewise served as important occasions for China to conduct defense diplomacy and deepen military mutual trust with other countries.
Notably, unlike Dong Jun's remarks at several recent editions of the Xiangshan Forum and Defense Ministry press briefings, his opening speech this year did not directly mention the Taiwan question — a shift that has drawn attention from multiple media outlets and observers, though the issue is still expected to come up in bilateral meetings and breakout discussions during the forum.
Analysts note that as one of China's most important home-turf diplomatic platforms in the field of defense and security, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum has continued to expand its "circle of friends" in recent years and has become a key channel for China to explain its security concepts and take part in shaping the discourse on global security governance. With this year marking the forum's 20th anniversary, the host hopes to further highlight the continuity and openness of China's defense policy and to win broader international acceptance for its new security concept. The forum will run through September 17, with delegations from various countries set to hold further breakout discussions on the above topics in the coming days.
Some commentators also note that after 20 years of development, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum has grown into a major Asia-Pacific defense and security dialogue platform often discussed alongside Singapore's Shangri-La Dialogue. The two share some overlap in agenda-setting and the range of participating countries, but each has its own distinct format, timing and areas of focus, together forming two important channels for official and semi-official defense diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific region.
In its preview coverage ahead of the opening, Chinese state media described this year's forum as "a much-discussed event, a window, and a platform," underscoring its significance as an occasion for China to showcase its defense policy to the world and improve international understanding. As the forum's agenda unfolds, the policy signals Dong Jun sent in his opening speech are expected to remain a focus of discussion and interpretation among various parties in the coming days.
