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With just a week to go until Chinese President Xi Jinping heads to Washington for his first state visit in more than a decade, Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun opted for the diplomatic path in his address to China’s premier security conference on Wednesday.
Speaking at the annual Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, Dong took veiled swipes at Washington and its allies but – unlike last year – appeared to pull his punches, skipping mentions of contentious issues such as Taiwan and the South China Sea.
He also said Beijing would share its experience in “military building” and “provide assistance within our capabilities” to foreign armed forces, a rare public offer by the country’s top defence officials.
Beijing seems increasingly confident of its military prowess heading into the People’s Liberation Army’s centenary next year, with a belief that it is closing the military gap with Washington.
At the same time, there are signs of improving defence ties between the two powers. A senior Pentagon official said earlier that US-China military communication was “stronger than it has been in years”.


At the forum, Dong described the global landscape as complex and international security as “fragile”, saying there was an “urgent need” to improve global security governance.
“We must promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and an economic globalisation that is universally beneficial and inclusive, forging a new path to security based on dialogue rather than confrontation, partnership rather than alliance and win-win outcomes rather than zero-sum games,” he said.
While he did not name any country, Dong alluded to the US and its actions in the Middle East on several occasions, including urging “major powers” to shoulder the responsibility of maintaining global stability and upholding multilateralism, and calling on countries to “resist reckless moves that use security as a bargaining chip”.
“We must not tolerate provocations that attempt to hijack the overall interests of countries and regions for private gain or the interests of small cliques. We must work together to rein them in,” he added.
“The persistence of global conflict serves as a sobering reminder that … force cannot resolve the root of the problem. Coercion and pressure only widen rifts and create more difficulties.”
His comments took tacit aim at the United States as the Donald Trump administration resumed strikes against Iran in a bid to end a conflict now in its seventh month.
Dong instead positioned Beijing as a “responsible major country” that has maintained an impartial stance, capable of acting as a “positive and stabilising force” in resolving conflicts.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Beijing on Wednesday.




Even as Dong took veiled jabs at the US, his tone was markedly more measured than at the same forum last year.
A year ago, he still did not name any country but described military alliances as groups driven by “selfish interests”.
Urging countries to stand up against “disguised hegemonic logic and bullying acts”, he also said the time that the world was overshadowed by a “cold war mentality, hegemonism and protectionism” – phrases Beijing routinely uses to describe Washington’s actions.
Unlike last year, when Dong asserted that the return of Taiwan to Beijing was “an integral part of the post-war order” and that Beijing was “ready to thwart any external military interference”, he left out Taiwan from this year’s speech.
Zhou Bo, senior fellow at the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, described Dong’s tone on Wednesday as “relatively mild” but stressed that the omission of Taiwan did not mean the issue was any less important.
“Not mentioning Taiwan does not mean that China is less concerned with the issue,” said Zhou, a retired senior colonel in the People’s Liberation Army. “It doesn’t mean that China is not paying attention to it.”
Beijing views Taiwan as part of China to be reunited with force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.
Beijing has repeatedly said that Taiwan is its core interest and a “red line” that must not be crossed in Sino-US relations. The issue is expected to be raised again by Xi when he sits down with Trump next week.
Nor did Dong make any mention of the South China Sea. Last year, he criticised “extra-regional powers” for using freedom of navigation to stir up tensions in the disputed waterway.
According to Zhou, Dong’s offer to help with military development in other countries reflects Beijing’s growing confidence in its military.


That offer came a day after Dong hosted senior officials attending the forum, including the defence ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar, according to China’s defence ministry.
The PLA has also held a series of joint training exercises with other militaries, including those of Belarus, Egypt, Singapore and Thailand in the past month.
Meanwhile, according to Zheng Yongnian, dean of the school of public policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, it was good for the world that the US and China had agreed to establish stable relations since Trump’s visit to China in May.
Zhu Feng, dean of Nanjing University’s school of international studies, said the forum was aimed at promoting security cooperation between Beijing and the world, so Dong’s speech could not solely focus on “these contentious issues”, referring to the omission of Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Beijing’s offer to help build other militaries stemmed from the turmoil roiling global affairs, Zhu added, saying that while China could deepen cooperation through multilateral platforms, it also needed to work together with smaller states if they faced internal problems.
“This also demonstrates China’s responsibility as a major country in the face of various current tensions,” he said.
With China-Japan relations still strained following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan in November last year, Dong said the world “must bear in mind the lessons of history and remain highly vigilant against … hegemonism, militarism and historical revisionism”.
Among other things, the Chinese defence chief also called for countries to deepen cooperation in areas including joint exercises and training as well as engage in dialogue on artificial intelligence, outer space and the deep sea.
The three-day Xiangshan Forum is expected to gather defence delegations from close to 100 countries, regions and international organisations. The forum, seen as Beijing’s answer to Singapore’s annual Shangri-La Dialogue, marks its 20th anniversary this year.


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Dong Jun makes rare public offer of foreign military aid at major security conference and skips mentions of Taiwan and South China Sea


Dong Jun makes rare public offer of foreign military aid at major security conference and skips mentions of Taiwan and South China Sea.


Chinese defence chief skirts flashpoints at Xiangshan Forum ahead of Xi-Trump summit

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Dong Jun makes rare public offer of foreign military aid at major security conference and skips mentions of Taiwan and South China Sea

Dong Jun makes rare public offer of foreign military aid at major security conference and skips mentions of Taiwan and South China Sea