Xiangshan Forum to tackle security challenges in Asia-Pacific

The seventh Xiangshan Forum is set to open on Monday in Beijing, with the theme of building a new type of international relations.

Over 400 representatives from 64 countries and organizations will attend this year's forum, which will continue until Wednesday. Some 350 of the representatives will be from overseas. Apart from Asian countries, participants from Europe, Africa and the South Pacific are increasingly active in the forum, according to He Lei, vice president of Chinese Academy of Military Science. He noted that foreign delegations are also more active in requesting meetings and exchanges with other delegations.

This year's forum will cover four topics during the plenary sessions: "Role of Militaries in Global Governance," "Responding to New Security Challenges in the Asia-Pacific through Cooperation," "Maritime Security Cooperation" and "International Terrorism Threats and Countermeasures."

There will also be four concurrent panels: "Major Power Relations and Global Strategic Structure," "Globalization vs. Deglobalization: Implications for International Security," "Developments in Terrorism and Creative Approaches to Cooperation" and "Maritime Crisis Management and Regional Stability."

The forum was first launched in 2006, and was held once every two years until 2014. However, last year China began inviting more foreign defense officials and scholars, changing it from a biennial event to an annual one, the Xinhua News Agency reported.