The media briefing for the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum is held in Beijing, China, on September 8, 2026. Photo: Lu Zenan/GT

The 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum will be held from September 15 to 17 at the Beijing International Convention Center, with preparations largely complete as the forum marks its 20th anniversary, organizers said at a media briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

Under the theme “Build Consensus on Stability, Advance Security Governance Together,” this year’s forum will feature four plenary sessions and eight parallel sessions. The fourth China-Africa Peace and Security Forum will also be convened in conjunction with the Xiangshan Forum.

Senior Colonel Li Fei, director of the office of the China Association for Military Science, said the forum would build on its experience and embrace greater openness to help promote regional security and stability, and safeguard world peace and development.

The Forum will bring 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.

Around 200 experts and scholars are expected to participate in the forum,including former Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama, former European Parliament vice-president Ryszard Czarnecki and former Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) secretary-general Vladimir Noro, according to the organizer.

The four plenary sessions will focus on international order and strategic stability; localized conflicts: predicaments and pathways to resolution; risks and challenges to security and stability in the Asia-Pacific, and the role and vision of developing countries 

The eight parallel sessions will address topics including multipolarity and the international order, major-country relations and strategic stability, Asian approaches to addressing security challenges, and new challenges facing international arms control.

Other topics include resolving local conflicts and building regional security, sea lane security and maritime security governance, risks and regulation of military applications of emerging technologies, and trends in outer space security governance.

According to information released at the briefing, the sessions respond directly to pressing international concerns, integrating traditional and non-traditional security, global governance and regional hotspots, military technology and international rule of law.

Closed-door academic meetings will provide an environment for representatives from different regions and with differing positions to engage in candid exchanges and in-depth dialogue.

Officials highlighted four features for the 13th edition. First, the agenda systematically conveys China’s propositions—the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity and the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative, and Global Governance Initiative—with high-end interviews structured around “stability” and “governance.”

Activities marking the anniversary will include a dialogue bringing together 20 Chinese and foreign experts to reflect on the forum’s development over the past two decades. A retrospective exhibition, a commemorative video and interviews with longtime participants are also planned.

Co-hosting the China-Africa Peace and Security Forum leverages complementary resources for greater cumulative impact, according to the briefing.

Since its launch in 2006, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum has held 12 editions, evolving from a Track 2 exchange among defense think tanks into a Track 1.5 platform involving former chiefs and political dignitaries as well as prominent scholars.

The forum now draws participants from more than 100 countries and serves as a widely recognized venue for equal consultation and collaborative peacebuilding, according to the organizer.

Global Times