China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun called for ending the wars in Ukraine and Gaza through negotiations, portraying the country as a peacemaker as Beijing seeks greater influence on security matters worldwide.

“The earlier we sit down for negotiations, the sooner peace arrives on hot-spot issues,” Admiral Dong said in his opening address at the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing on Friday, citing the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East.

Dong said China and other major countries have a responsibility to safeguard security and called for more equitable global governance. He addressed defence officials from dozens of countries, including from Russia and the US, in his first major speech since succeeding ousted former defence chief Li Shangfu last year.

His remarks are part of China’s efforts to position itself as an alternative to the Western-led world order. Without blaming anyone, he called on leading powers not to “bully” the weak and regional countries to manage their own security.

China has sought to beef up its peacemaking credentials to boost its influence on global affairs. It has presented itself as a neutral mediator trying to end Russia’s war in Ukraine and taken steps to reconcile rival Palestinian factions.

But China has largely avoided the core issues in the conflicts, such as Ukraine’s demand for Russian troops to leave Ukrainian territories they annexed since 2014. The US has also questioned its professed neutrality, criticising its economic and diplomatic support for Moscow.

Still, Dong appeared to strike a more conciliatory tone this year as Beijing and Washington seek to stabilise military ties ahead of the US elections in November. At the forum last year, top Chinese general Zhang Youxia took a thinly-veiled swipe at the US for “stirring up trouble around the world”. In his speech, Dong pledged to promote healthy military relations “across the board”.

“There was no mention about the US. There’s no rivalry spirit. There was more about the spirit of dialog, communication and bridging differences,” said Henry Wang Huiyao, forum attendee and founder of the Center for China and Globalization research group in Beijing.

Michael Chase, a US deputy assistant secretary of defence for China, Taiwan and Mongolia, joined the forum amid a series of diplomatic exchanges aimed at managing the China-US rivalry. 

His attendance followed calls between the countries’ military commanders this week, their first since such talks were suspended in 2022 as ties worsened over then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy claimed by Beijing.

Despite the flurry of diplomacy, military tensions have been rising between Beijing and Washington’s partners in the Asia-Pacific. A Chinese military aircraft breached Japanese airspace for the first time last month, escalating frayed relations with another key American partner after Chinese and Philippine coast guard vessels clashed again in the disputed South China Sea.

  - Bloomberg