Beijing, 15-17 September 2026 – Deputy Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Zhang Ling participated in the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum held in Beijing under the theme “Build Consensus on Stability, Advance Security Governance Together” organized by the China Association for Military Science (CAMS) and the China Institute for International Strategic Studies (CIISS).
This year, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum marked its 20th anniversary. Since establishment in 2006, the Forum has evolved from a Track II dialogue platform initiated by the CAMS into a broader Track 1.5 security dialogue platform, bringing together high-level officials of defense, representatives of military institutions, former political figures, international organizations, experts and scholars from around the world.
The opening ceremony featured a keynote speech by Admiral Dong Jun, Minister of National Defense of China, who emphasized the need for a new vision of security, stronger multilateralism, and dialogue to resolve differences. He also called for greater international coordination, mutual trust and practical cooperation in addressing common security challenges, including those in emerging domains.
The three-day Forum consists of 4 plenary sessions, leading experts' dialogue, young military officers’ seminar, series of simultaneous sessions, closed-door seminars and high-end interviews, covering a broad range of topics from major traditional and non-traditional security challenges to global governance, regional conflicts, military technology, international law and emerging security issues.
During the panel session on “The Asian Way to Address Security Challenges”, CICA Deputy Secretary General Zhang Ling shared CICA’s evolutionary journey from an idea to a pivotal platform for peace and stability of Asia and its unwavering commitment to building trust and fostering dialogue among Asian countries.
She noted that over the past 30 years, CICA has developed a number of distinctive features, some of which have proven to be among its unique strengths and sources of attractiveness, including inclusiveness and broad Asian representation, combination of principles of consensus and voluntariness and step-by-step approach.
She shared CICA's experience in promoting confidence building and practical cooperation among Member States and emphasized that Asia’s diversity requires an inclusive approach to security based on respect for sovereign equality and consideration of different interests. Deputy Secretary General Zhang Ling noted that CICA always prioritizes confidence building in those areas where Member States can identify common ground and gradually develop cooperation based on their willingness, national policies and concrete conditions.
Deputy Secretary General Zhang Ling also shared CICA’s comprehensive approach to security through its five dimensions of Confidence Building Measures (CBM) and further highlighted the close ties between development and security.
Speaking of the role of multilateral mechanisms in addressing common challenges in Asia, Mrs. Zhang called for enhancing synergy and joint actions of regional organizations to raise efficiency and bring more practical results for collective response to emerging challenges, especially in the transnational and cross-border fields.
The 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum brought together official representatives, experts, scholars and observers from more than 100 countries and international organizations. Guided by the principles of “Equality, Openness, Inclusiveness and Mutual Learning,” the Forum has continued to provide a platform for professional dialogue and in-depth discussion on international and regional security issues.
