China has decided to boycott the Asian security summit known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, which is being held in Singapore from May 29 to 31, 2026. The event, hosted at the Shangri-La Hotel, brings together defense leaders, military chiefs, and security experts from around the world. U.S. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth is scheduled to be the keynote speaker, but Chinese top officials will not attend despite the inclusion of major issues such as the Iran war.

According to the organizers, the 23rd edition of the Shangri-La Dialogue will include 54 ministerial-level representatives from 44 countries. The absence of China comes at a time of heightened regional and global tensions. Kepler, a maritime monitoring agency, reported that 57 percent of China’s crude oil imports in 2025 came from the Middle East, but supplies were severely disrupted after U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

A senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, Oh Ei Sun, noted that renewed U.S.-Iran clashes have reduced the likelihood of any meaningful agreements emerging from the summit.