The 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum took place from September 15 to 17, 2026, at Beijing International Convention Center. As the forum marks its 20th anniversary, its search for common ground comes at a time of deepening security tensions.

Under the theme “Build Consensus on Stability, Advance Security Governance Together”, the forum featured four plenary sessions on:

• International Order and Strategic Stability;
• Localized Conflicts: Predicaments and Pathways to Resolution;
• Risks and Challenges to Security and Stability in the Asia-Pacific;
•  The Role and Vision of Developing Countries.

The Xiangshan Forum included eight parallel sessions, such as:

• Major-country Relations and Strategic Stability;
• Asian Approaches to Addressing Security Challenges;
• Sea Lane Security and Maritime Security Governance;
• Risks and Regulation of Military Applications of Emerging Technologies;
• Trends in Outer Space Security Governance.

The objective of the Xiangshan Forum is to ask why a threat is being perceived. When the level of trust among major powers is low, perhaps the most important function of a security forum is not to produce agreement, but to prevent miscalculation. In this context, Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun called for preventing risks with historical awareness, resolving problems through dialogue and consultation, and chart a course toward lasting peace and common security.

Recent Western security debates – from a “post-Western” world to “de-risking” – repeatedly circle one question: Where is the danger? By contrast, the Xiangshan Forum tends to focus on crisis management, de-escalation and how rules can be built together.

The Forum brough together defense and military leaders, heads of international and regional organizations, and internationally renowned experts and scholars, with organizers emphasizing more balanced and representative participation. According to organisers, around 2,000 guests and observers from more than 100 countries have attended.

Among the participants, there were countries with different political systems, including Western allies and countries that the West often excludes from its strategic conversations, especially since the 4th China-Africa Peace and Security Forum was convened in conjunction with the Xiangshan Forum. Security, in this tradition, extends beyond military affairs. Climate change, food security, public health and artificial intelligence governance belong in the same conversation.

The forum’s approach is that countries should first be willing to sit at the same table, discuss rules and then confront their disagreements. Their interests may diverge, their governments may differ and their positions may clash. Yet they can begin with one common premise: war is a catastrophe for everyone, so the first task is to find ways to prevent it. The highest form of strategy is not necessarily winning a war. It is making sure the war never begins.