China’s defence minister again skips Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore attended by US’ Hegseth
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CHINA’S top military diplomat will skip Asia’s biggest defence forum for a second year in a row, ceding to the US and its allies an opportunity for public defence diplomacy.
Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun will not attend the Shangri-La Dialogue taking place in Singapore from May 29 to 31. Instead, Beijing is sending a delegation of military experts and scholars led by Major General Meng Xiangqing, a professor at People’s Liberation Army National Defense University, according to the Defence Ministry’s spokesman. That is a similar level to the one in 2025.
Bloomberg earlier reported Dong’s expected absence from the event.
The three-day Singapore summit is a rare chance for regional military officials to put unscripted questions directly to defence leaders in a public setting. Traditionally, the sitting Pentagon chief delivers a major policy address on Saturday morning, followed by the Chinese counterpart on Sunday.
The last time that happened was in 2024, when Dong and then-Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin also held a rare face-to-face meeting on the sidelines.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth will attend 2026’s forum fresh off a trip to China in May as part of President Donald Trump’s delegation. Military tensions between the two super powers have persisted over a range of issues, but Beijing has signalled it is open to building trust with Washington.
Meng attended the Shangri-La Dialogue in 2025, when Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro engaged in a testy back-and-forth with Chinese officials. Meng later told the Global Times news outlet that Teodoro’s remarks were unfounded attacks.
China has increasingly promoted its own military summit, the Xiangshan Forum. Typically opened by China’s defence minister, that event hosts global military officials but is usually attended by only a lower-level US delegation. BLOOMBERG
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