BOAO /China/, March 25. /TASS/. The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) is about to start the annual large-scale conference devoted to strengthening regional partnerships, issues of globalization, and promotion of free trade. As per Secretary General Zhang Jun, one of its key objectives is to encourage the process of rebuilding mutual trust globally.
This year the forum is themed ‘Asia in the Changing World: Towards a Shared Future’. The participants of the event, which will traditionally be held in the eastern seaside of the Hainan province (South China), plan to particularly focus on problems of global governance and issues related to a wide introduction of the AI technology in today’s society.
The development of proposals connected with drafting optimal strategies for economic development, considering the aging population in the People’s Republic of China and some other Asian countries, will also be high on the agenda. Amid mounting tensions in the Chinese-US relations, politicians and experts plan to discuss prospects of bridging divisions between China and the United States in the interests of global development at the forum.
This year the BFA will take place from March 25 to 28. Panel discussions and dialogues, roundtables, and plenary sessions will be held from morning until late evening, taking 1-1.5 hours as a rule. Judging by the program, separate events will take twice as long. Same as in previous years, organizers will offer meetings with popular political analysts, social scientists, and economists from all over the world to journalists. The ceremony of the opening of its official part, attended by Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, senior-most officials, and key political figures of China and other countries, is set to become the key event traditionally scheduled for the third day of the forum.
Russia is regularly represented at conferences taking place in Boao every spring. This time, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk is expected to attend the forum, which gathers up to 5,000 people (including participants, journalists, security support staff, and service staff), similar to last year.
He will be accompanied by Russian Ambassador to China Igor Morgulov. Moscow keeps a close eye on events on this regional platform for promoting multifaceted cooperation. Such recognizable figures in modern Russian Sinology as director of the Institute of China and Modern Asia at the Russian Academy of Sciences Kirill Babayev will also come here. The Russian president’s special envoy for relations with international organizations to achieve sustainable development goals, Boris Titov, is on the list of those going to speak as well.
The Boao event also directly relates to Russia’s energy, to Gazprom in particular. Chairman of the Board of Directors of the gas producer, the Russian president’s special envoy for interaction with the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, Viktor Zubkov, has been on the BFA’s board since 2018.
The conference will cover four main areas: cooperation amid serious global changes; rebuilding balance in the process of globalization and ensuring inclusive development; accelerated implementation of sustainable development targets and more efficient solutions to global problems; and artificial intelligence management, promoting innovations. The forum’s participants are expected to use the dialogue and upcoming discussions to provide an unbiased assessment of the global situation overall, put forward valuable proposals on encouraging universal progress, outline tangible prospects for interaction, and provide recommendations applicable to new trends and realities.
The Boao forum has been held since 2022 on a regular basis, boasting up to 29 participating countries (Asian states). This platform for strengthening multifaceted cooperation is referred to as ‘Far Eastern Davos’. China’s authorities pay close attention to the development of the BFA and regard it as an efficient soft diplomacy tool.