bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Minnie Chan

Beijing will host the Xiangshan Forum in October, but it is not clear if defence chief General Li Shangfu – who has not been seen in public for a month – will attend the regional security talks.
Defence ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Wu Qian confirmed on Thursday that the forum will be held from October 29 to 31.
It is the first time that the event – China’s answer to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore – will be held in person since 2019.
“So far, more than 40 countries and international organisations have confirmed they will send delegates and renowned experts to the forum, while many scholars at home and overseas have also confirmed their attendance,” Wu told reporters in Beijing.
But he sidestepped a question about Li at the press briefing.
“I do not know about this issue,” Wu said when asked if Li was still the defence minister.
China’s defence chief would normally host the Xiangshan Forum, meet delegates and give a keynote address.
Li last appeared in public at the end of August and on Wednesday was absent from a Politburo study session. There has been no explanation from Beijing, fuelling speculation that he could be under investigation.


Ministry spokesman Wu said the theme of this year’s Xiangshan Forum was “Common security and lasting peace”. Sessions will cover issues ranging from global security cooperation to the role of developing countries on global security, and the path and goals of regional security and development.
The forum – which Beijing uses to voice its views on regional disputes – has been held since 2006 but was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Two days of virtual talks were held last year.
Top US general offers ‘rational’ take on China’s military progress, analyst says
Beijing-based military commentator Li Jie said this year’s forum would be “more significant and high-profile”.
“Not only does it mark the 10th session [of the event] but it will also be the first face-to-face get-together of military elites since the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
Invitations to the forum were sent in late August by General Yang Xuejun, chairman of the China Association for Military Science, and Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng, chairman of the China Institute for International Strategic Studies, a think tank composed of retired PLA senior generals.
Jing, who is also deputy chief of the Central Military Commission’s Joint Staff Department, attended the Shangri-La Dialogue in June. Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, he lashed out at US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin for trying to “pull out of Beijing’s one-China principle” and “seriously distorting the facts and truth” of Taiwan’s status.


US adds 6 more Chinese companies to export blacklist for boosting Iran, PLA

China plans live-fire drills in Taiwan Strait after US and Canadian warships transit

Chad Sbragia on why a breakdown of US-China defence links could be ‘really dangerous’

Chinese researchers put data link hardware to the doomsday test: paper

China’s military

China will host Xiangshan Forum, but no word on missing defence chief

Chinese Defence Minister General Li Shangfu attends the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in June. His unexplained absence for a month has fuelled speculation about his fate. Photo: Reuters

Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu does not attend meeting, continuing public absence

Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu, shown at the Moscow Conference on International Security on August 15, has not been seen in public since August 29. Photo: EPA-EFE 

How Beijing is using ‘fishing militia’ to assert its claims in the South China Sea

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

The Qiong Sansha Yu 00115 was identified as one of the Chinese fishing boats that confronted Philippine vessels near Second Thomas Shoal earlier this month. Photo: AFP

News

China

Military

Ministry spokesman confirms regional security talks will be held in Beijing from October 29 to 31
But it’s not clear if General Li Shangfu – who disappeared from public view a month ago – will attend


Ministry spokesman confirms regional security talks will be held in Beijing from October 29 to 31.


Shangri-La Dialogue

Li Shangfu

China will host Xiangshan Forum, but no word on missing defence chief

Ministry spokesman confirms regional security talks will be held in Beijing from October 29 to 31 But it’s not clear if General Li Shangfu – who disappeared from public view a month ago – will attend

Ministry spokesman confirms regional security talks will be held in Beijing from October 29 to 31

But it’s not clear if General Li Shangfu – who disappeared from public view a month ago – will attend