US Pentagon Official Attends Xiangshan Forum for the First Time in Historic Military Dialogue

Michael Chase, the Pentagon's senior director for China, will lead a delegation to attend this year's Xiangshan Forum on international security in Beijing, marking the first time in recent years that the United States has participated in such an event with a high-ranking Department of Defense official. Established in 2005 and hosted by the People's Liberation Army, the Xiangshan Forum is designed to provide a platform for military and security experts from various countries to discuss regional and global security issues. In the past, the United States mostly participated through defense attaches from its embassy in China, representing a lower level of engagement. Chase's attendance this year signifies a marked elevation in the official rank of U.S. representatives in China policy, indicating that military-diplomatic contacts between the two sides are gradually resuming or adjusting.

Participants in the Xiangshan Forum include military and security officials from countries such as the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and Japan. The conference agenda typically covers topics including maritime security, counterterrorism cooperation, arms control, and the military applications of emerging technologies. Over the past few years, U.S. military dialogues with Beijing have frequently been hindered by factors such as trade friction, the situation in the Taiwan Strait, and South China Sea disputes, with bilateral defense engagements mostly conducted via telephone or in writing. Chase's trip not only represents U.S. participation in multilateral discussions, but may also provide an opportunity for him to directly exchange views with high-ranking officials from China's Ministry of Defense at the venue, seeking consensus on crisis prevention and accidental conflict management.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Defense still attended the Xiangshan Forum through defense attaches from the embassy in China, which constituted routine observation and information gathering. The upgrade to having a senior China director directly dispatched by the Pentagon lead the delegation demonstrates a strategic adjustment by the United States within the Asia-Pacific security architecture. Since the Biden administration took office, its policy toward China has emphasized the importance of "stability and the prevention of miscalculation" while maintaining competition. Chase's attendance can be interpreted as a U.S. desire to keep communication channels open at the military level to avoid miscalculations arising from information asymmetry, particularly against the backdrop of rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait, where both sides need to grasp each other's intentions and operational scopes.

For Beijing, the participation of foreign military officials in the Xiangshan Forum serves as a window to showcase China's playing a larger role in international security affairs. Chinese authorities frequently invite various countries to participate with an attitude of "openness and inclusivity," thereby enhancing their own international image and discourse power. The high-level participation of U.S. officials also provides Beijing with an opportunity to directly convey China's security perspectives to the U.S. side, especially on sensitive issues such as freedom of navigation, military transparency, and regional arms balance, where significant differences remain between the two sides' positions. The statements and questions from Chase's team could potentially form the basis for future negotiation mechanisms between the two militaries.

Observers point out that the upgraded profile of the U.S. delegation may herald a new phase in U.S.-China military communication. If both sides can reach a consensus at the Xiangshan Forum on crisis management mechanisms, the establishment of hotlines, or the transparency of military exercises, it will help reduce the risk of accidental conflicts and carry positive significance for stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Conversely, if the talks remain merely formal interactions or feature intense confrontation on key issues, it could exacerbate external concerns about a regression in U.S.-China relations. Regardless of the outcome, Chase's trip to Beijing has become one of the focal points of U.S.-China security engagement this year, warranting continued international attention regarding its subsequent developments.