Beijing Xiangshan Forum Navigator Meeting 2025 Kicks Off

By Li Weichao

Chinese and foreign participants attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum Navigator Meeting 2025 on April 29, 2025. (Photo by Li Weichao)

BEIJING, April 29 -- The opening ceremony of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum Navigator Meeting 2025 was held at the Huabei Hotel in Beijing, China, on Tuesday. Over 200 defense officials, experts and scholars from more than 30 countries and international organizations as well as media representatives were present at the ceremony.

The opening ceremony was hosted by Major General Chang Wei, Executive Secretary General of the China Association for Military Science. Major General Zhang Baoqun, Deputy Chief of the Office for International Military Cooperation under China's Central Military Commission (CMC), attended the ceremony and gave a general speech. Major General Chen Xiaoqian, Vice President of the Chinese PLA Academy of Military Sciences and Secretary General of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, attended the ceremony and delivered a keynote speech.

Our world today is living through accelerating changes unseen in a century and the international security situation is intertwined with changes and turmoil. Unilateralism, protectionism and hegemonic bullying have risen significantly. Meanwhile, the collective rise of the Global South has accelerated the evolution of the world towards multi-polarization, and the international community has a stronger aspiration for peace and development. In his keynote speech, Maj. Gen. Chen emphasized that the Beijing Xiangshan Forum is committed to building a platform for equal dialogue that features openness, inclusiveness and mutual learning. By promoting international security dialogue and cooperation, the forum aims to inject a stabilizing and constructive force into the international community.

Established in 2006, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum has been successfully held for eleven times and has become a world-renowned defense and security forum. As the first of its kind, the Navigator Meeting boasts both defense dialogues and academic exchanges, providing an opportunity to listen to the security concerns of different parties, collect the opinions of the participants and optimize the planning and organization of the next forums.

Chinese and foreign participants attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum Navigator Meeting 2025 on April 29, 2025. (Photo by Li Weichao)

Chinese and foreign participants attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum Navigator Meeting 2025 on April 29, 2025. (Photo by Yan Zhengxu)

Chinese and foreign participants attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum Navigator Meeting 2025 on April 29, 2025. (Photo by Wu Mingqi)