Navigator meeting of Xiangshan Forum gathers representatives to discuss global hot-spot issues: organizer

The navigator meeting of the 2026 Beijing Xiangshan Forum, held in Beijing from May 7 to 9, is aimed at bringing together representatives of various countries to discuss global hot-spot issues, thus providing a reference for the theme and agenda of the upcoming forum, according to the event's organizer.

The meeting, co-hosted by the China Association for Military Science and the China Institute for International Strategic Studies, is a prelude to the Beijing Xiangshan Forum scheduled for this fall.

More than 120 defense officials, scholars and representatives from over 40 countries and international organizations have gathered at the navigator meeting, discussing international and regional security hot-spot issues and the future of global governance.

"Since its founding in 2006, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum has gone through a 20-year course of development. Over the past two decades, it has upheld the principles of equal dialogue, inclusiveness and mutual learning, consistently providing a platform for developing countries to make their voices heard, and to play their respective roles in how to better maintaining regional security and stability and strengthening global security governance," said Li Shuyin, Director, General Office, Beijing Xiangshan Forum Secretariat.

"Meanwhile, the main purpose of the navigator meeting is to invite representatives from various countries to share their concerns and thoughts on regional situations and international hot-spot issues. This will provide a reference for the theme and various seminars of the upcoming Beijing Xiangshan Forum," she said.

Under the theme of "Global Security Governance: Challenges and Approaches," the meeting focuses on topics such as the international order and international rule of law, new security challenges in the Asia-Pacific, and risk control in the military application of emerging technologies.

Navigator meeting of Xiangshan Forum gathers representatives to discuss global hot-spot issues: organizer

Micro-dramas born in China are now taking the U.S. market by storm, and according to a popular American actor, the U.S. film and television industry is looking to copy China's playbook to replicate the commercial success of its vertical-screen short dramas.

Matt William Knowles is the first non-Asian to graduate in acting from the Beijing Film Academy and has starred in multiple hit Chinese TV dramas, including "Red Sorghum" and "Eastern Battlefield". Now, as he has become the face of America's vertical micro-drama boom, he said the experience feels nothing short of surreal.

"I didn't expect that the vertical series would be a thing several years ago, and now they've popped up and grown so fast," said Knowles.

In his view, vertical micro-dramas have long ceased to be a niche phenomenon. In the U.S., they've already built a huge and fast-growing audience.

"I think a couple of years ago, there was a smaller market or type of person who was watching this series, and now there are more and more people who are watching. I had a friend who said he was on a construction site recently, and there were a bunch of construction workers, and they were all watching a vertical series together," he said.

As an insider, Knowles has observed a notable shift in the U.S. film and television industry in recent years: a growing trend of looking to China for inspiration. Backed by hard market data, the once-supreme Hollywood is now filled with professionals eager to decode the business secrets behind China's micro-drama success.

"Several years ago, China was usually bringing over talent from Hollywood to China to learn from them. But now you have this interesting thing that's happening with vertical series, where vertical series started in China. And now people in America are trying to figure out: how can we copy this thing and make money off it? I think a lot of people are studying what's going on in China," he said.

Hollywood taking notes from China's micro-drama playbook: U.S. actor