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🇸🇬 Singapore /Conflict & Security

What China hears in Hegseth’s Shangri-La speech is a softening of tone towards the US’ regional rival

From The Straits Times · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • China's absence of its defense minister at the Shangri-La Dialogue was noted, with some attendees questioning the forum's Asian focus.
  • Responses from Chinese officials and scholars suggested that U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's speech reflected a softening tone consistent with recent U.S.-China agreements.
  • Chinese scholars interpreted Hegseth's call for allies to increase defense spending as a sign of U.S. declining power and continued pursuit of hegemony.

The Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's premier security forum, saw significant attention drawn to the absence of China's defense minister, prompting questions about the event's inclusivity. Attendees expressed disappointment that the "biggest Asian power" was not properly represented, especially given the forum's billing as a key platform for regional security discussions. While China has sent its defense chief in the past, recent years have seen representation by lower-ranking officers, often without public explanation from Beijing.

How can it be called an Asian forum if the biggest Asian power isn’t properly represented?

— disappointed attendeeAn attendee's comment on China's lower-level representation at the Shangri-La Dialogue.

Following U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's speech, reporters actively sought reactions from Chinese attendees. Major General Meng Xiangqing, head of the Chinese official delegation, offered a measured response, emphasizing the need to implement the consensus reached by leaders to develop healthy and stable military ties. This stance aligns with the "constructive China-U.S. relationship with strategic stability" agreed upon by Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping.

Such MAGA foreign policy will continue for at least 11 more years, three during Trump’s current term, and likely for two more terms of the next President.

— Professor Wang DongProfessor Wang Dong of Peking University commenting on the expected continuation of U.S. foreign policy.

However, Chinese scholars present at the dialogue offered more pointed commentary. They viewed Hegseth's remarks, particularly the call for allies to increase their defense investments, as indicative of the U.S.'s diminishing capacity and its persistent aspiration for global hegemony. Professor Wang Dong of Peking University suggested that U.S. foreign policy, under the "MAGA" framework, is shifting from a provider of public goods to a power increasingly focused on its own economic interests, expecting others to share the burden. Retired Senior Colonel Zhou Bo echoed this sentiment, questioning the U.S.'s expectation of equal burden-sharing while maintaining its dominant role.

If everyone is expected to shoulder the burden equally, then what makes you the

— Retired Senior Colonel Zhou BoRetired Senior Colonel Zhou Bo questioning U.S. expectations at the Shangri-La Dialogue.
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Originally published by The Straits Times. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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