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China offers competing vision of international security at Xiangshan Forum

By Elizabeth Shim
China is hosting the eighth Beijing Xiangshan Forum, where more than 500 representatives from 67 countries are in attendance, according to state media. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI
China is hosting the eighth Beijing Xiangshan Forum, where more than 500 representatives from 67 countries are in attendance, according to state media. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 24 (UPI) -- China is wooing countries with an alternative vision of security partnerships across Asia at the eighth Beijing Xiangshan Forum, where more than 500 representatives from 67 countries are in attendance.

Chinese organizers of the security conference said Wednesday China is "proposing a new security partnership" that is inclusive and not challenging "existing alliances" among nations in the region, state newspaper People's Daily reported.

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"We hope China's new security ideology will be welcomed in many countries," organizers said, according to the report.

The forum is taking place at a time when the United States continues to condemn Beijing's construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea.

China's official statements issued Wednesday suggested the forum would bring the concerns of marginalized countries to the center.

"The countries [in participation] have relatively few opportunities to speak on the international stage," said Zhao Xiaozhuo, director of the secretariat's office of the Xiangshan Forum. "This forum will provide a foundation for their voices."

Zhao also said the South China Sea issue will be discussed at the forum.

"This conflict will last forever between the United States and China," he said.

China is hosting the security conference as it eases tensions with neighbors, including Japan.

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To mark the 40th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China signed Aug. 12, 1978, the two countries are expected to resume full-scale military exchanges, Kyodo News reported Tuesday.

The resumption would continue visits that have been suspended for seven years, according to the report.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who will meet with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to China that begins on Thursday, is likely to address the details of the exchange during the summits.

China and Japan have previously disagreed on issues of territory and continue to clash over the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

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