Security forum meeting in Beijing, America on target of China and Russia

Chinese and Russian military chiefs targeted the United States for criticism at a security forum in Beijing on Monday, while China’s second-most senior military commander vowed to boost defense ties with Washington. The lack of regular communication between the US and Chinese militaries has been a persistent concern for Washington amid tensions between the countries and the threat of an accidental clash in the South China Sea or near Taiwan.

The Beijing Jiangshan Forum, China’s biggest annual show of military diplomacy, began on Sunday without the country’s defense minister, who usually hosts the event, but it did include a US delegation amid rising regional tensions. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu warned the West that its involvement in the Ukraine war poses a serious threat.

Russia’s TASS state news agency quoted Shoigu as saying at the forum that continued aggravation of the western line of conflict with Russia threatens to lead to a direct military confrontation between nuclear powers, which is fraught with disastrous consequences. Zhang Youxia, President Xi Jinping’s vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, indirectly criticized the United States and its allies, accusing “some countries” of trying to undermine the government.