The 22nd edition of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's premier defense and security summit, opened in Singapore on Friday amid geopolitical tensions.
This year's dialogue drew representatives from more than 40 countries, including 40 ministerial-level delegates, 20 chief of defense forces-level delegates, over 20 senior defense officials, and prominent academics, according to the Singapore Ministry of Defense.
A Chinese delegation from the National Defense University of the Chinese People's Liberation Army is attending the event.
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to deliver a keynote speech late Friday, where he's expected to position France -- and Europe -- as champions of international cooperation and rules-based trade.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to speak on Saturday about America's "new ambitions for Indo-Pacific security". Observers say he faces a tough task in convincing Asian allies, many of whom remain uneasy about President Donald Trump's disruptive policies, not least those related to trade.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will also give a speech on Saturday and make clear how, amid global geopolitical uncertainties and sharpened geo-economic fault lines, Malaysia as ASEAN's current chair, provides strategic leadership for the region and beyond, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the organizer.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas is also scheduled to speak on Saturday.
Analysts say key topics will likely include regional cooperation, the U.S. security policies and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. The implications of sweeping U.S. tariffs are also likely to attract attention, as officials will use the platform to reassure partners and navigate an increasingly multipolar security landscape.
The Dialogue runs from Friday through Sunday.
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Highlighting the "Future Energy" as a key direction for China's strategic emerging industries, the country's nuclear energy development, guided by its three-step strategy, has seen major strides in the past year, said a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
In a recent press briefing, Xin Feng, also deputy general manager of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), updated the media on the progresses China has achieved under the strategy.
"China's three-step strategy for nuclear energy development -- from the thermal reactor to the fast reactor and the fusion reactor -- was formulated in 1983 as a medium- and long-term plan. For the thermal reactor, over the past year, our 2.0 version of the Hualong One technology has been approved. This is a unified and fully self-owned intellectual property based third-generation nuclear power technology solution. And the Linglong One small modular reactor also successfully completed its cold-state functional test last year and is expected to be put into commercial operation this year," he said.
For the second and third steps, Chinese researchers and engineers have achieved milestones in the past year with the government support, Xin noted.
"Then for the fast reactor, last year, a closed-cycle system for an integral fast reactor successfully achieved preliminary standard design. We will continue to solve its engineering technology challenges. As for the fusion reactor, in 2025, with national support, we established the China Fusion Energy Company in Shanghai. And our Huanliu-3, a platform for conducting research and development of fusion technology, made a big stride, with an iron temperature in it achieving 117 million Celsius and an electron temperature reaching 160 million Celsius. We will continue to adhere to the development strategy and focus on technological research and engineering technology development," Xin said.
The fourth session of the 14th NPC and the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC kicked off in Beijing on March 5 and March 4, respectively.
The "two sessions" -- which refer to the annual meetings of China's supreme organ of state power, the National People's Congress (NPC), and its top political advisory body, the National Committee of the CPPCC -- are a key event on the country's political calendar and offer a window into the country's development direction.
China's nuclear energy development makes great strides with three-step strategy: CPPCC member
