China used the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum to press for stronger international security cooperation, with Defence Minister Dong Jun holding talks with military and defence officials from Asia, Europe and the Caucasus during the annual gathering.
Dong met representatives from Myanmar, Brunei, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, as well as ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn. The meetings provided a parallel diplomatic track to the forum, which brought together representatives from nearly 100 countries, regions and international organisations.
The discussions centred on Beijing’s call for countries to respond collectively to security challenges through dialogue, mutual trust and practical cooperation. Dong said the Chinese military was ready to deepen cooperation with other countries in addressing common security concerns.
The forum was held under the theme “Build Consensus on Stability, Advance Security Governance Together”. Beijing has increasingly used the Xiangshan Forum as a venue for engaging foreign defence establishments and presenting its views on international security governance.
Dong connected China’s approach to its concept of a “community with a shared future for humanity” and the Global Security Initiative, one of Beijing’s principal foreign-policy frameworks. China argues that security challenges have become increasingly interconnected and require cooperation beyond conventional military competition.
That approach encompasses a broad range of issues, including regional conflicts, terrorism, cyber threats and other non-traditional security risks. Beijing has promoted dialogue and negotiated approaches as alternatives to confrontation in addressing international disputes.
The Xiangshan Forum was established in 2006 and has since developed from a regional military dialogue into a broader international security platform involving defence officials, government representatives, international organisations and security specialists.
Chinese officials describe the forum as an open and inclusive venue based on equality and mutual learning. Its format allows Beijing to engage countries with different political and strategic alignments while discussing wider questions of regional and international security.
The composition of Dong’s meetings reflected the geographic scope of that engagement. Discussions with Myanmar, Brunei and the ASEAN secretary-general highlighted China’s defence contacts in Southeast Asia. Separate meetings with Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia extended the diplomatic outreach across Eurasia and the Caucasus.
Such contacts are part of China’s wider use of military exchanges and defence diplomacy to maintain relationships with foreign armed forces and governments. They also give Beijing an opportunity to promote its preferred approaches to security cooperation while strengthening direct communication with defence establishments.
The forum, however, takes place in an international environment marked by competing strategic interests. Differences over territorial disputes, military modernisation, regional influence and security arrangements remain obstacles to establishing common positions among countries.
The participants also do not share identical assessments of China’s growing defence role. While engagement with Beijing can provide additional channels for dialogue and military communication, China’s expanding security relationships are also closely examined in the context of broader geopolitical competition.
That tension places limits on what international security forums can achieve. Dialogue can improve communication and create opportunities for cooperation, but it does not remove the underlying differences among states over strategic interests and regional security.
For Beijing, the Xiangshan Forum nevertheless offers a prominent setting for advancing its security agenda. By combining a large multilateral gathering with separate meetings between senior defence officials, China is seeking to broaden military contacts and strengthen its role in international security discussions.
The 2026 forum therefore served both as a venue for discussing global and regional security challenges and as an instrument of China’s wider defence diplomacy. Its emphasis on dialogue and cooperation reflected Beijing’s stated preference for a more collective approach to international security governance.
