China's Defence Minister Calls for AI, Space Governance — SkimNews
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- Dong Jun called for greater security dialogue and rule-making in emerging domains — AI, outer space and the deep sea — at the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing on Sep 16, attended by delegates from nearly 100 countries including Singapore and North Korea.
- Dong urged major powers to take the lead in global security governance, advocating "dialogue rather than confrontation, partnership rather than alliance, and win-win cooperation rather than zero-sum competition," without directly naming the US.
- The Xiangshan Forum (Sep 15-17), themed "Build Consensus on Stability, Advance Security Governance Together," launched in 2006 as China's counterpart to the Shangri-La Dialogue.
- China and the US are sparring over AI — the US has accused Chinese AI labs of "industrial-scale knowledge distillation campaigns," while Beijing rejected the claims and accused Washington of using national security to suppress Chinese companies.
- China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday opposed any arms race in outer space after the US revealed the Pentagon is operating weapons in Earth's orbit; the US delegation is led by Brigadier General Stacy Kihara.
- Dong said China's military would deepen cooperation through joint exercises, training, peacekeeping and naval escorts, citing energy and shipping-lane security amid the US-Iran conflict disrupting the Strait of Hormuz.
Why it matters: Dong's speech positions Beijing as a security-governance alternative ahead of the Sep 24 Xi-Trump summit, with AI and outer space now formally on the bilateral agenda. By avoiding naming the US while calling for 'dialogue rather than confrontation,' Beijing frames itself as the diplomatic partner as the two powers spar over AI distillation claims and Pentagon weapons in orbit.
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