Signal 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum opens as China-US military dialogue continues to resume

Summary

The 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum opened at the Beijing International Convention Center and ran for three days under the theme of building consensus on stability and advancing security governance together. Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun opened the forum by calling for closer international security cooperation in a multipolar world. The US delegation was led by Cynthia Carras, the Pentagon's senior director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia, and attended at a higher level than the previous year. Observers said China-US military relations appear to have improved, pointing to a Military Maritime Consultative Agreement working-group meeting held in Hawaii in late May and a first bilateral meeting between the commanders of China's Eastern Theater Command and the US Pacific Command in late August and early September. The continuation of this dialogue was reported to follow an agreement reached between the two countries' heads of state.