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Participants attend the 9th Beijing Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 21, 2019. The opening ceremony of the 9th Beijing Xiangshan Forum was held at the Beijing International Convention Center Monday. (Photo by Li Xiaowei/Xinhua)

BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The opening ceremony of the 9th Beijing Xiangshan Forum was held at the Beijing International Convention Center Monday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping extended a congratulatory message to the forum, which was delivered by State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe at the opening ceremony.

President Xi has placed high hopes on the forum and pointed out the direction for participants to build consensus on peace and deepen security cooperation, Wei said in his speech.

China has stayed on the path of peaceful development, pursued a national defense policy that is in nature defensive, resolutely safeguarded its sovereignty, security and development interests, as well as worked on building a community with a shared future for humanity, Wei said.

China is willing to work with other countries, under a new vision of security featuring common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, to develop security rules, upgrade multilateral security mechanisms and build a new type of security partnership in the Asia-Pacific region, Wei said.

Over 1,300 people attended the forum, including 23 defense ministers, representatives from 76 official delegations and eight international organizations, as well as renowned experts and observers.

The forum is themed "Maintaining International Order and Promoting Peace in the Asia-Pacific."

Initiated in 2006, the forum has been dedicated to promoting exchanges and cooperation among defense authorities, armed forces, international organizations and scholars.