Beijing Xiangshan Forum at 20: Diverse voices, shared dialogue on global security

As the Beijing Xiangshan Forum marks its 20th anniversary, international participants at its 13th edition have highlighted the forum's role as an inclusive platform for dialogue on global security issues.

Held in Beijing from Sept. 15-17 under the theme "Build Consensus on Stability, Advance Security Governance Together," the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum drew around 2,000 participants, including official representatives, scholars, experts and observers from more than 100 countries, regions and international organizations.

Andrey Kortunov, former director general and academic director of the Russian International Affairs Council, noted that the forum has become an important international event for discussing security challenges facing Eurasia and the wider world.

"Over 20 years, the forum has established itself as a very respectable, very representative and inclusive meeting," Kortunov said.

He noted that the forum brings together voices from both the Global South and the West, adding that it allows for open and frank discussion.

Kortunov also pointed to the broad range of issues discussed at the forum, including regional and subregional security challenges and the impact of emerging technologies.

"Artificial intelligence, cyber warfare, hybrid wars, modern war, are very different from what they used to be," he said.

For him, the value of the forum also lies in the opportunity to hear perspectives that may be less accessible elsewhere.

"I hope to engage in discussions with my colleagues from China. But beyond that, it's very informative to meet people from other parts of the world, people whom you would seldom meet in other circumstances," Kortunov said.

Lampros Stergioulas, UNESCO Chair in AI & Data Science for Society at the Hague University of Applied Sciences, poses for a photo at the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, Sept. 16, 2026. [Photo by Xu Xiaoxuan/China.org.cn]

Lampros Stergioulas, UNESCO Chair in AI & Data Science for Society at the Hague University of Applied Sciences, described the forum as an important venue for people from different countries to come together in a welcoming environment and engage in dialogue.

"Definitely this forum provides that, especially at a time when we have a lot of conflicts. We have not so much stability in the world right now. So, it's very important," he said.

Stergioulas said he hoped discussions could go beyond exchanging views, and lead to common ground and progress toward peacefully resolving conflicts.

Bernt Berger, director of the Germany-based Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient, said the forum offers a format for dialogue that brings together a particularly broad range of participants, including countries from the Global South.

"Here, we find a much broader participation, also from the Global South. And the way it is organized is more on eye level between all participants," Berger said, adding that the forum also allows for discussion of issues concerning smaller countries.

Rabb Majumder, editor and publisher of The Security World magazine in Bangladesh, also emphasized the forum's relevance to developing and smaller countries.

"There is no such platform like this forum to discuss the issues or conflicts of many developing countries and small countries," he said.

Majumder said dialogue and diplomacy are important for addressing disputes, expressing his hopes for a better future, better Asia and better world.

Michael Vatikiotis, senior advisor at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Switzerland, poses for a photo at the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, Sept. 16, 2026. [Photo by Xu Xiaoxuan/China.org.cn]

Michael Vatikiotis, senior advisor at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Switzerland, spoke approvingly of the importance the forum places on inclusivity and promoting discussion.

"I think it's important that the forum continues to be as inclusive as possible and bring protagonists from all sides of all conflicts to be able to come here and engage in dialogue," he said.

The forum's focus on defense and security issues therefore remains highly relevant, he added.

Wendnonga Annie Astrid Compaore, a second lieutenant from Burkina Faso, poses for a photo at the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, Sept. 16, 2026. [Photo by Xu Xiaoxuan/China.org.cn]

Wendnonga Annie Astrid Compaore, a second lieutenant from Burkina Faso, said discussions on international security are particularly relevant to her field and her country's security interests.

She described her participation as a very good learning opportunity and expressed her hope of attending the forum again in the future.