Xiangshan Forum: Dialogue matters in a fragmented security world

Editor's note: Cai Hongyu, a special commentator for CGTN, is a lecturer at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy, Beijing Foreign Studies University. Xiao Yixi is a master's student at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy, Beijing Foreign Studies University. The article reflects the authors' opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum is being held in Beijing from September 15 to 17. At present, regional conflicts continue to drag on, the deficit in security governance is widening, the existing international order is under severe strain, and the international community widely expects China, as a responsible major country, to play an important role.

As an international public security product provided by China and shared by the world, the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum will continue to make positive contributions to promoting regional security and stability and safeguarding world peace.

A platform for exchanges

Relations among major countries are a key factor shaping the trajectory of the international order and the international landscape. Nowadays, mutual trust among major countries is on a general downward trend, diplomatic communication mechanisms have been weakened to varying degrees, and suspicions regarding each others’ strategic intentions have markedly increased.

After the Ukraine crisis broke out in 2022, various intergovernmental security communication channels between the United States and Russia ground to a halt, arms control and strategic stability dialogue was severely disrupted, and neither side continued to implement the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. As a result, the US-Russia arms control regime, which had already been shrinking and steadily eroding since the end of the Cold War, is on the brink of collapse.

On September 5, the US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, visited Moscow and held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two sides exchanged views on a series of major issues, including the Ukraine crisis. This shows that even in difficult times for bilateral relations, both the United States and Russia hope to maintain basic contact and dialogue.

It is worth noting that delegations from both US and Russia are joining the forum. Even if the two countries hold different interests and policy positions, and a single meeting can hardly bridge long-standing differences, the forum has created a valuable window for all countries to articulate their positions and exchange views.

The major countries participating in the forum can make full use of the forum as a platform to enhance mutual trust and dispel misgivings, help ease the situation, and seek solutions to the issues.

Joining hands to promote security governance

While the theme of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum this year is "Build Consensus on Stability, Advance Security Governance Together," the building of consensus cannot be achieved without an open, inclusive, multilateral platform for exchanges.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of the forum. Since its inception in 2006, it has successfully held 12 editions. Over the past two decades, the forum has seen a marked rise in the scale and level of participation, a gradual expansion of its agenda from a focus on the Asia-Pacific to global issues, and a diversification of participants and session formats from a single model to a pluralistic one.

Over these two decades, the forum has gradually transformed from a "Track-2" forum, featuring scholarly exchanges, into a high-level intergovernmental platform for international security dialogue.

Although the forum's scale has been expanding steadily, its principle that respecting the positions of all countries and ensuring that all countries can fully articulate their respective demands has never changed.

At all previous sessions of the forum, representatives from countries across different regions and at different levels of development have equally enjoyed the opportunity to participate and to speak. This year's forum also features a dedicated plenary session on "The Role and Vision of Developing Countries," aimed at giving more developing countries a greater say. Through solid institutional arrangements, the forum has worked to translate the principle of "equality" into practice.

Nowadays, the international environment is characterized by intensified major-power rivalry, prominent regional issues, evolving forms of warfare and the increasingly wide application of artificial intelligence in national defense and security systems. The consequence is a rising risk of strategic miscalculation among countries.

In this context, the value of a multilateral platform lies not only in reaching consensus, but also in sustaining regular communication, which helps manage the spillover risks of major-power rivalry and reduces the possibility of miscalculation.

The trajectory of the forum is also an epitome of China's fulfillment of its responsibility as a major country and its efforts to build the image of a responsible major country. As an important platform to implement China's Global Security Initiative, the forum will continue to give play to its unique value in seeking common ground, while reserving differences and promoting peace talks, helping representatives of all countries resolve tensions and bridge differences through dialogue, and pooling greater strength for building a global community of shared future.

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