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Dong Jun takes softer line on US at Xiangshan Forum as Xi prepares for Trump summit

Retired PLA colonel says defence minister’s speech signals growing confidence and lower tension with US

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China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun attends the Beijing Xiangshan Forum on Wednesday. Photo: X.com/XiangshanForum
Dewey Sim

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun’s address to a defence gathering in Beijing on Wednesday carried a message for Washington but it was delivered in a notably softer, less critical tone, according to a retired senior colonel in the People’s Liberation Army.

Zhou Bo, now a senior fellow at the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, said Dong’s tone was “relatively mild”, even as the Chinese defence minister made veiled references to the US and its actions in the Middle East.

The address comes just a week before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned trip to the US and as US officials laud improved military-to-military communication between the two powers.
Beijing a force for peace, says China’s defence chief
In his speech at the Xiangshan Forum, Dong urged countries to build a new security approach based on dialogue rather than confrontation, and partnership instead of alliance – a reference to Washington’s military alliances that Beijing has long criticised as bloc confrontation.

He also called on major countries to shoulder their responsibility, and for the international community to oppose actions that involved forming exclusive blocs.

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