
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun speaks at the opening ceremony of the Xiangshan Forum at the Beijing International Convention Center in Beijing on Sept. 18, 2025. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images
China’s state-run media outlets are pushing an anti-Israel narrative built around a public confrontation in which a Chinese scholar clashed with an Israeli military officer over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
The incident occurred on the sidelines of the annual Xiangshan Forum, which is widely regarded as China’s version of the Shangri-La Dialogue, a premier regional security summit held annually in Singapore. According to China’s state-run media, the heated exchange happened on Sept. 17, the first day of the three-day forum.