Over 90 nations, organizations set for Beijing Xiangshan Forum

More than 500 representatives from over 90 countries and international organizations have confirmed their participation in the 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum as of Tuesday, the organizers said on Wednesday.

Wu Jiangang, an official of the high-level security forum's organizing committee, said that the attending officials include more than 30 defense ministers and chiefs of staff, as well as over 200 experts and scholars from China and abroad.

In addition, the participants also include leaders and representatives from international and regional organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union, he said.

This year's forum has achieved new breakthroughs in terms of the level, scale and representative nature of the participants, said Wu.

The United States is set to send Michael Chase, deputy assistant secretary of defense, to the forum, according to a Reuters report citing a US official.

The forum, co-hosted by the China Association for Military Science and China Institute for International Strategic Studies, will be held in Beijing from Sept 12 to 14.

The theme of this year's forum is Promoting Peace for a Shared Future. It will feature four plenary sessions and eight parallel group sessions, focusing on topics such as security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, multipolarity and the international order, the Global South and global security governance, according to the forum's official website.

Additionally, a series of special academic activities will be held during the forum, including seminars involving senior experts and scholars from home and abroad, as well as dialogues between young military officers and scholars from China and elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the official agenda indicates that this year's forum will also organize discussions among renowned scholars from China and abroad on subjects focusing on the security of artificial intelligence and the positive use of emerging technologies.

Luo Xi, a researcher at the People's Liberation Army Academy of Military Science, said that AI is a highly emerging technology that can greatly influence national defense and military strategies, stressing, however, that there is still a significant gap in managing this emerging technology.

"It is necessary for all countries, especially those with strong AI capabilities, to jointly advocate for cooperation and exchanges in areas such as arms control and global governance, in order to minimize the risks that AI technology might pose to global security and stability," she said.

According to the organizers, this year's forum will focus on global security concerns, encouraging relevant parties to engage in in-depth exchanges and equal consultations, advocating for a new path of security featuring dialogue rather than confrontation, partnerships rather than blocs, and win-win rather than zero-sum outcomes.

While continuing to provide a platform of equal dialogue for participating countries, this year's forum will also further expand the participation of developed countries from Europe and North America, as well as emerging ones.

jiangchenglong@chinadaily.com.cn