"China's annual international security gathering in Beijing is the first since the start of US President Donald Trump's second term. The event is part of Beijing's bid to bolster its recent power projection efforts in "upholding international order." The Xiangshan Forum, which runs from Wednesday to Friday, is widely regarded as China's answer to the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's premier annual security gathering in Singapore, typically attended by minister-level officials from Western countries, including the United States and its allies."
"The United States' representative at the Xiangshan Forum is the defense attache from its Beijing embassy — a lower-level delegate after Washington sent a deputy assistant secretary of defense last year. In June, Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun skipped the Shangri-La Dialogue — the first time since 2019 that Beijing's defense chief has been absent from the summit. Kuo told DW that there's a bit of "forum shopping" going on, with China "trying to create its own sort of separate system and get countries to go to that.""
China is using the Xiangshan Forum to project influence and promote an alternative approach to international security and order. The forum convenes around 1,800 representatives from roughly 100 countries, including officials, military personnel and scholars. Attendance levels vary, with the United States represented by a defense attache this year, down from a deputy assistant secretary last year. Beijing's defense minister skipped the Shangri-La Dialogue in June, marking the first absence since 2019. Observers characterize the pattern as 'forum shopping,' with China seeking parallel institutions while delegation ranks signal states' priorities amid US-China competition.
Read at www.dw.com
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