Xiangshan Forum looks to find the missing handshakes

The 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum opens in Beijing today under the theme "Build Consensus on Stability, Advance Security Governance Together". As the forum marks its 20th anniversary, its search for common ground comes at a time of deepening security tensions.

Last autumn, I had the opportunity to attend the Beijing Xiangshan Forum. It simply did not look like a conventional security forum.

At the Munich Security Conference, the coffee break can become political theater in its own right. Delegates scan the room, calculating who they can be seen with and who should be avoided.