The Beijing Xiangshan Forum Navigator Meeting kicked off in Beijing on Tuesday morning, bringing together over 200 defense officials, experts, scholars and media representatives from more than 30 countries and international organizations to discuss global security issues in preparation for the main forum later this year.
This Navigator Meeting, a crucial step in the forum's development, serves as a precursor to the main Beijing Xiangshan Forum, which is scheduled for the fall.
Since its inception in 2006, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum has successfully hosted eleven editions and has become a prominent international defense and security forum. To further optimize the planning and design of the forum's serial activities and create more opportunities for exchange and cooperation, this year, for the first time ever, a navigator conference was held before the opening of the main forum, combining defense exchange and academic dialogue.
"Firstly, this conference is intended to make preparations for the main forum by collecting opinions and suggestions from participants to focus on their positions and security concerns. Secondly, the event is intended to provide more dialogue and exchange opportunities on international security. And thirdly, it is designed to strengthen practical cooperation among defense departments of various countries by exploring potential cooperation and implementing existing plans, to provide important input for pushing the forum to achieve more practical cooperation results," said Wu Jianguo, director of the Office of the Secretariat of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum.
In the coming two days, the event will convene four roundtable discussions on the Trend of Defense and Military Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, the Trend of Great Power Relations after the Super Election Year, the Role of BRICS in Global Security Governance, as well as the Role of the U.N. in Resolving Global and Regional Hotspot Security Issues. These in-depth discussions aim to contribute insights to building a more just and reasonable international order.
Beijing Xiangshan Forum Navigator Meeting opens to chart course for global security
The results of a poll released by China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Monday show that building China-Latin America community with shared future has been gaining growing support from the people of Latin America.
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the official launch of the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum, CGTN, in collaboration with the University of San Martin de Porres, Latin American Center of Political and Economical Studies on China and University of Santiago de Chile, conducted the poll with 2,500 respondents across 10 Latin American countries.
The results of the poll show that respondents strongly agree with the development philosophy and achievements of Chinese modernization and view China-Latin America cooperation positively. The China-Latin America community with a shared future has also gained growing support from the people of Latin America.
China and Latin American countries are all developing nations. The philosophy of Chinese modernization offers a valuable reference for Latin American countries in their pursuit of development.
China is viewed favorably by the majority of respondents, the poll results show. A total of 94.8 percent of respondents see China as a successful country, 85.9 percent find it attractive and 94.8 percent recognize China's strong economic power. In addition, 95.6 percent of the surveyed respondents recognize China's technological strength, and 82.9 percent believe the country's development model is of reference value to Latin America.
In recent years, more Latin American countries have chosen to establish or resume diplomatic ties with China. The poll results show that 86.2 percent of respondents have a favorable view of China and 87.7 percent expressed a favorable view of the Chinese people. The same percentage hold a favorable opinion of Chinese companies investing and operating in Latin America.
In the five countries that have recently established or resumed diplomatic relations with China -- The Dominican Republic, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, the respondents expressed even stronger goodwill toward China, with an average favorability rate exceeding 90 percent.
Young people are full of vitality and dreams. The respondents aged 18 to 34 expressed significantly higher favorability toward China compared to other age groups.
Among them, those aged 25 to 34 have the highest favorability toward China (92.2 percent), followed by those aged 18 to 24 at 87.7 percent. Additionally, 87.2 percent of Latin American respondents acknowledge China's cultural influence, with 91.9 percent of respondents aged 18 to 24 and 89 percent of those aged 25 to 34 agreeing holding this view. Moreover, 88.1 percent of Latin American respondents positively assess China's contribution to human civilization.
Among respondents aged 18 to 34, the proportion of those who frequently or always engage with Chinese culture and entertainment products is 13.7 percentage points higher than that of those aged 35 or older. Nearly half (49.2 percent) of Latin American respondents believe that exposure to Chinese popular culture has effectively enhanced their understanding of China.
As a key driver of China-Latin America cooperation, the Belt and Road Initiative's (BRI) influence in Latin American countries is steadily growing, and respondents' understanding of the initiative is becoming increasingly rational.
In the description of the BRI, the top three points of agreement are: "a development model that countries can adopt to improve economic prosperity" (55 percent), "an important public good provided by China for improving international governance" (54 percent), and "China's vision for cooperation with other countries" (52.6 percent).
Additionally, 80.4 percent of respondents believe the BRI has a positive impact on the development of Latin American countries; 81.1 percent agree with the "consultation, contribution, and shared benefits" principle upheld by the initiative; 82.1 percent view it as an important contribution by China to the world; and 80.9 percent feel that it helps establish a more equitable international order.
According to the poll results, 86.5 percent of respondents believe economic cooperation with China has been mutually beneficial and 90 percent agree that Chinese investment has effectively boosted local economic development.
Regarding China-Latin America relations, 81.8 percent of respondents believe the current relationship is progressing positively; 93.8 percent consider maintaining strong ties with China vital to their country; and 89 percent express optimism about the future of bilateral relations.
The poll covered ten countries: Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic. Respondents were members of the general public aged 18 to 55 and older, with sampling aligned with each country's census-based age and gender distribution.
The poll results were made public one day before the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum opened in Beijing.
CELAC, launched in 2010, is an intergovernmental mechanism for dialogue and political agreement, which includes all 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries in the region.
Poll: Building China-Latin America community with shared future gains growing support
