Washington's zero-sum mindset out of place today

Some Western media outlets have tried to portray the ongoing Beijing Xiangshan Forum that started on Sunday as a platform for China and Russia to display a united stance against the United States and its allies.

That is a gross distortion of the annual defense and security symposium Beijing has been hosting since 2006, as it is by no means an occasion calling for confrontation, but a platform striving for peace.

That Beijing and Moscow chose to openly lay their respective concerns with Washington on the table at the forum for candid communication with the US side indicates there remains space for military-to-military dialogue aimed at avoiding miscalculations and deepening mutual understanding.