BOAO /China/, March 26. /TASS/. Participants of the four-day Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) are starting panel discussions devoted to a wide range of issues from economic cooperation to cultural and humanitarian issues. Key topics on the BFA's 2024 agenda include the danger of fragmenting the international trading system and geopolitical risks, including those caused by the Russian-Ukrainian and Palestinian-Israeli conflicts.
The Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2024 is the 22nd edition of the forum (in 2020 it was canceled due to the pandemic) themed "Asia and the World: Common Challenges, Common Responsibilities". Traditionally, the first day will be devoted to reports on the development of Asia and the countries that partner with the region. The opening ceremony, marking the key stage with the participation of leaders and politicians from different countries, including officials from the Russian Federation, will be held on the third day. On March 28, representatives of the top leadership of China and other states will address the BFA guests with statements related to the regional and international agenda.
Russia's role in the forum
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk and Russian Ambassador to Beijing Igor Morgulov will attend the forum this year.
Since 2018, the forum's board has included Viktor Zubkov, Russian President for Interaction with the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PJSC Gazprom. Last year, this company's deliveries through the Power of Siberia gas pipeline to China increased 1.5 times to a record 22.7 billion cubic meters.
Other BFA participants
Hainan authorities estimate that about 5,000 people, including 1,200 journalists, will gather at the Boao venue this year. Key figures include BFA chairman and Former United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Zhang Ming, President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Jin Liqun, Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Kao Kim Horn, and Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Daren Tang.
"In accordance with our established practice, leaders from various nations, including [members of] the government of the host country, as well as officials, heads of international organizations, company representatives, experts and academics, and the media will be invited to the BAF. We are happy to welcome old and new friends and journalists from all over the world to Hainan," Li Baodong, Secretary General of the forum, said earlier. "Despite the many challenges, we still need to see the main and positive aspects, explore the potential and positive energy."
The official noted that the pursuit of peace, development and cooperation "remain the core ideas of the international community." "The modern world is gradually transforming into a global village (a term meaning coexistence, which is ensured through close trade contacts, active cross-border migration and wide cultural and humanitarian interaction - TASS), the countries of the world are becoming more and more interconnected. Many challenges are global in nature, and the response to them should also be global," the Secretary General added. "The responsibility for promoting peace and prosperity should be shared by all countries, and [the resulting] benefits should be common to each of them."
Major international companies will be represented at the forum. Chairman of the Board of Sinopec Corp Ma Yongsheng, his counterpart from China Energy Engineering Corporation Song Hailiang, Xcoal Energy & Resources Chief Executive Officer Ernie Thrasher, representatives of the management of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation known as Sabic, China's leading alcohol producer Wuliangye, South Korea's Samsung Electronics, a British-Swedish pharmaceutical and biotechnology company AstraZeneca and many others will come to Boao.
Forum topics
According to the BAF program, for four days the organizers will hold more than 30 discussion panels, whose participants - experts, businessmen and politicians - will discuss international cooperation, economy, finance and investment issues, innovations, digitalization, implementation of artificial intelligence technologies, ecology, alternative energy and fight against climate change, religion and security issues.
The most interesting topics include "Reducing Trade Fragmentation", "Social Governance and Regional Security", "Global Geopolitical Outlook", "World Economic Outlook", "Global Security Initiative: Addressing Security Challenges for World Peace", "China's Economic Outlook" and "South China Sea Issues". Apart from the open events, there will be a series of round tables and sessions, where journalists are not usually invited.
According to the program, the participants will touch upon issues related to "the drawn-out Russian-Ukrainian crisis and a new escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict", discuss "resolving global problems in the context of escalating tensions and conflicts between leading powers" and the negative consequences threatening "a huge increase in costs for the world economy, especially for developing countries". The program shows that the organizers of the forum have set themselves the task to strengthen the solidarity of political and expert circles of Asia and other regions through discussions, to strengthen mutual trust for the sake of joint peaceful development. This year's BFA events are divided into four sections: World Economy, Science, Technology and Innovation, Social Development, and International Cooperation.
The forum's guests will again turn their attention to Hainan's economy, successes and new opportunities in its development. The "Global Free Trade Port Development" panel discussion, which, like other similar events, will last more than an hour, is dedicated to the issue.
Hainan – the host
Hainan authorities have ensured the success of the forum year after year. Thanks to the efforts of several Chinese companies, most notably logistics giant COSCO Shipping, Dongyu Island, where the BFA complex is located, has become a symbol of China's eco-friendliness and innovation. Here, near the mouth of the Wanquan River, advanced low-carbon developments are being actively adopted. After these technologies have been tested in Boao, they are beginning to be used in other parts of the PRC.
This year, BFA participants will be able to work in a more comfortable environment thanks to a China Railway Construction Corporation project, which has put into operation an integrated smart control system for optimal energy supply in BFA buildings. The new smart technology is connected to more than 400 refrigeration units and automatically controls indoor humidity levels both in the convention center and in the rooms of nearby hotels where the forum's main guests are staying.
The Chinese government announced the establishment of the Boao Forum in 2001, and since 2002 it has been held annually. BFA has about 30 participating countries (Asia-Pacific countries). The forum is called the Eastern Davos; it is an important platform for signing important agreements, coordinating positions between representatives of business and government circles of Asian countries and all other regions of the world. Chinese authorities pay great attention to its development and consider this mechanism as an effective instrument of soft diplomacy, which promotes and strengthens Beijing's international contacts.