CaliToday (15/9/2025): China is set to advance its strategic diplomatic and military showcase this week as it hosts its annual security forum against a backdrop of escalating regional tensions.
Foreign diplomats and security analysts expect Chinese officials will use the Beijing Xiangshan Forum to promote President Xi Jinping's vision for the international order. Outlined earlier this month, Xi's vision calls for unity against "hegemonism and power politics" a clear criticism aimed at the United States.
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| PHOTO: Military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing |
According to China's official Xinhua news agency, approximately 1,800 representatives from 100 nations, including government officials, military personnel, and academics, are scheduled to attend the three-day event, which opens on Wednesday.
An Opportunity for Insight
For many foreign representatives, particularly those from Western nations and China's neighbors, the forum's seminars and networking events offer a rare opportunity to seek details on China's accelerating military modernization and the opaque leadership of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the world's largest armed force.
"We can be sure that foreign delegates attending this year’s Xiangshan gathering will try to pry more technical information about some of the weapon systems from their PLA counterparts," said James Char, a Chinese security scholar at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
Although China first displayed a range of new armaments at a September 3rd military parade—including hypersonic weapons, large submersible drones, and advanced long-range nuclear missiles—analysts say significant questions remain about their operational capabilities and effectiveness in a conflict.
The forum also presents a chance to better understand the PLA's specific command structure, especially within the Central Military Commission. The need for clarity has been heightened by a purge over the last two years that has seen more than a dozen generals, many formerly close to Xi, removed from the military.
A Tense Geopolitical Backdrop
Diplomats note the importance of this dialogue is magnified by simmering tensions and disputes across East Asia. These concerns were highlighted this week by sea trials for the PLA Navy's third and most advanced aircraft carrier in the contested South China Sea. Simultaneously, Japan and the United States have been conducting exercises in Okinawa featuring the powerful Typhon anti-ship missile system.
Most Western and allied militaries are expected to send lower-level delegations, as they continue to prioritize the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore as the region's premier informal security conference.
A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed the United States would send its defense attaché from the embassy in Beijing. This represents a downgrade from last year when Washington sent a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense. The spokesperson stated that Pentagon leadership had determined the attaché was "the appropriate level of representation."
Officials from both countries confirmed that Singapore's Minister for Defence, Chan Chun Sing, and his Malaysian counterpart, Mohamed Khaled Nordin, would be in attendance. A spokesperson for South Korea's defense ministry said an official from the state-run Korea National Defense University would participate. According to state media reports, China's Ministry of National Defense has confirmed delegations from Russia, France, Brazil, Nigeria, Singapore, and Vietnam.
