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Why Beijing Xiangshan Forum is where the Global South can find security solutions
- Poverty caused by Western economic monopolies is ‘pushing developing countries to seek solutions from China’, Chinese economist tells warm-up event
- Arrival of Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations shows the Global South is looking at China for regional security solutions, defence expert says
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Minnie Chanin Beijing
As Beijing gears up for a high-profile security forum expected to showcase its leverage in the Global South, observers are hoping it will also help war-torn developing states find a way towards peace and development.
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“Today’s world is full of violence, and poverty is the key reason leading to these bloody conflicts. The poorer the country, the more violence there is,” eminent Chinese political economist Zheng Yongnian told a warm-up event on Sunday for the 10th Beijing Xiangshan Forum.
“It is the long-standing system of Western economic monopolies that is pushing so many developing countries to seek solutions and learn from China’s development model,” Zheng said.
The Beijing Xiangshan Forum – styled as China’s answer to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s premier security gathering – is the country’s biggest annual military diplomacy event.
Themed “Common Security and Lasting Peace”, this year’s edition formally opens on Monday and will be attended by security officials from 90 countries and international bodies, including 22 defence ministers.
The Chinese delegation is likely to be without a defence minister, however, as Beijing has yet to announce a replacement for Li Shangfu, who was dismissed without explanation on Tuesday.
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