China defence chief opens Xiangshan Forum with warning against coercion and historical revisionism
Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun has opened the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum with a call for shared security governance and deeper military cooperation. In remarks delivered in Beijing on Wednesday, he urged countries to stop provocative acts and resist what he described as the return of regressive historical trends. He also warned against coercion, hegemony, militarism and historical revisionism.
Sponsored
Dong did not directly name the United States or Japan in his speech, but his comments were widely framed as a veiled criticism of regional rivals. He said the lessons of history should be remembered and that the international community should remain vigilant against what he called latent forms of hegemony and militarism. He added that such behaviour should not be ignored or condoned.
The forum is taking place amid heightened tensions over Taiwan and the disputed South China Sea. It is also being held about a week before an expected trip by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington for talks with US President Donald Trump. The timing gives the forum added diplomatic weight, as Beijing uses it to present its view of regional security and global order.
The Xiangshan Forum has become China's main military diplomacy platform over the past two decades. It is presented as a tightly managed alternative to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore and brings together hundreds of military officers, diplomats and scholars from dozens of countries. Beijing uses the event to promote a multipolar world and argue for a larger role for the Global South in security affairs.
Sponsored
Before the forum opened, Dong also met visiting defence officials from Myanmar, Brunei, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, as well as ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn. In those meetings, he promoted a vision of closer military cooperation and shared security. The sequence of meetings suggests Beijing is using the forum not only for public messaging but also for bilateral and regional outreach.
What remains unclear is how far Dong's remarks will translate into any concrete policy shift or new security initiative. The speech offered broad principles rather than detailed proposals, and it avoided direct criticism of specific governments. The forum will continue over three days, and attention will now turn to whether other participants respond to China's call for a more inclusive security framework.
Sponsored
