This year, however, attendance increased and the dialogue covered deeper issues. Over 1,300 participants from 76 official delegations attended, including defense ministers from 23 countries. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Chad Sbragia became the highest US defense official to join the Beijing security forum. His 20-man team was also the biggest delegation the US dispatched for the event. Russia also sent its highest defense official, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, to attend.

The forum highlighted a broad range of security issues, from the perspectives of major and lesser powers, ranging from maritime security, the use of artificial intelligence, and the future of warfare. In its ninth iteration, the Xiangshan Forum also showed its ability to adjust and evolve. It demonstrated Beijing’s increasing power to convene and its responsiveness to emerging security threats. Although China is not known for its openness on security matters, the forum did provide a venue for frank exchange on pressing security issues.
— Read on www.eurasiareview.com/30102019-the-9th-xiangshan-forum-can-china-uphold-a-security-order-under-siege-analysis/