BEIJING, February 19. /TASS/. Russian Ambassador to Beijing Igor Morgulov discussed with Secretary General of the Boao Forum for Asia Li Baodong the expansion of Russia's participation in the venue’s activities, the Russian Embassy in China reported.
"During the conversation they discussed the prospects for expanding the participation of Russian representatives in the work of the international organization, which is one of the main platforms for promoting economic cooperation in the Asian region," the diplomatic mission said on its Telegram channel.
Li Baodong noted Russia's important role in the forum's activities and spoke about the key events planned for this year, the embassy informed.
The Boao Forum for Asia will be held on March 26-29 in the southern Chinese province of Hainan.
The Boao Forum has been held regularly since 2001 and has about 30 participating countries from the Asia-Pacific region. Some call the forum Eastern Davos; it is a major venue for signing important agreements and coordinating views between representatives of business and governmental circles of Asian countries and other world regions. The Chinese authorities pay great attention to its development and consider this mechanism an effective tool of soft diplomacy, which contributes to starting and strengthening Beijing's relations with other countries.