Li Baodong

Secretary General of Boao Forum for Asia

“Where earth is gathered into a mountain, there prevail wind and rain.”

After 20 years’ development, the Boao Forum for Asia with gained world influence still hold the compationate attitude and tries its best to work for Asia, for the world , for the development of all humankind and for the the long-lasting peace.

“Where earth is gathered into a mountain, there prevail wind and rain.” At the turn of 2020s, Asia has become an engine fuelling the world economy on par with Western Europe and North America, and it is playing an increasing role in fostering common development and global governance. The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), a high-end international platform for dialogue, has seen Asia's take-off since the early 21st century. Based in Asia with a global outlook, it has joined emerging economies in addressing a pool of challenges. On the 20th anniversary for its establishment, the Forum has taken on a markedly new look. While sticking to its running theme of economy, BFA is also broadening its vision into the areas of innovation, health, education, culture, and media. Besides, it remains active in fostering consensus in such spheres as politics, business, academics, and media, and committed to promoting the boom of Asia and the world.

Over the past 20 years, the Forum has preserved its adherence to openness and win-win cooperation as well as the common development of Asia and the world. As the Coivd-19 pandemic drags on, economic globalisation has been derailed. The Forum perseveres in the path of multilateralism, in its cross-cultural, multi-disciplinary and cross-sectoral edges, and in the Boao Spirit marked by inclusiveness, innovation, and win-win cooperation. It thus provides an important dialogue platform for the international community to work together to address global challenges.

Turn Crises into Opportunities —————

BFA was born at the turn of the century when globalisation was sweeping across the globe. At that time, both Europe and North America had seen supranational sovereign regional cooperation organisations pop up one after another--a milestone breakthrough made in regional integration. However, Asian economies, which had previously maintained rapid growth, suffered marked losses amid the financial crisis due to a lack of coordination. Facing tremendous opportunities and challenges, 26 (later increased to 29) Asia-Pacific countries, with a sharp insight into the history, unanimously agreed to establish an Asian political-business dialogue platform to discuss economic coordination and regional cooperation on an open and inclusive footing and to voice Asia’s view on global issues.

The Forum was incubated in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis with a mission of responding to changes unique of varying times and boosting cooperation amongst countries across the world. It was for this reason that, at the very beginning, BFA has already excelled in seeking opportunities from crises and turning the latter into the former. In 2003, the newly-minted Forum encountered the SARS epidemic that had swept through Asia. In this predicament, the Forum organised discussions, ending up with a conclusion that the SARS impact on the economy of Asia and the world would be interim and reversible. Albeit feeble, this voice brought confidence and hope to Asia amid the panic of this epidemic, and it turned out to be correct and forward-looking.

In the following years, the BFA events were growing increasingly large-scale, and the Forum had become a worldwide renowned platform for international exchanges step by step. Whether in the 2008 international financial crisis or the 2011 European debt crisis, the Boao Forum for Asia always served as a crucial platform for policy coordination among countries in Asia and the rest of the world. Many visionary Boao Consensus were reached, and Boao Plans mapped out. What’s more, it is on the Boao stage that several momentous cooperation achievements in the Asia-Pacific region have been developed and perfected, including the Belt and Road Initiative, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilisations, etc, all of which have invigorated regional cooperation and economic growth.

" In the face of challenges, the Forum will remain committed to its mission of pooling positive energy for the development of Asia and the world, to its propositions for facilitating globalisation and multilateralism as well as to its positioning as an international high-grade platform for dialogue."

Nowadays, major changes unseen in a century are taking place all over the world. The international context is undergoing profound changes. Tensions continue to be felt amongst major powers. The world economy has got bogged down in a recession, and the Covid-19 pandemic coming out of the blue has sparked unprecedented challenges to the international community. Amid the pandemic, the Forum made decisions in light of the trend and made the utmost of virtual platform to proceed with quality work in an innovative manner. The Forum espoused countries around the world in their fight against the pandemic. Additionally, it held a number of seminars and activities and launched several heavyweight research reports. No sooner had the host country, China domestically brought the pandemic under control than the Forum resumed its in-person meetings, with the Partners Working Meetings held in Guinan and Haikou Office Inauguration Ceremony in Haikou. Today (November 9), the First Conference of the International Science, Technology and Innovation Forum of the Boao Forum for Asia (ISTIF) kicked off in Macau. As the Forum's first large-scale thematic conference on science and technology and innovation, this conference is deemed as one more result of the Forum's development strategy of one running theme and five focal areas, and, again, as the manifestation of the Forum’s robust vitality.

Through extensive discussions and its proactive moves, the Forum has further fostered consensus on cooperation in this formidable period. Human beings live in a "global village." Whether admitted or not, they have de facto become a community with a shared future where no country alone could isolate itself from the global challenges. Only by sticking to multilateralism and fortifying international cooperation shall we better respond to these challenges. Owing to that, in the face of challenges, the Forum will remain committed to its mission of pooling positive energy for the development of Asia and the world, to its propositions for facilitating globalisation and multilateralism as well as to its positioning as an international high-grade platform for dialogue.

Boost Cooperation for Development ————

“Development holds the key to and serves as the foundation for solving all problems.” This tenet is a basic experience acquired by China, the Forum’s host country, and it is de facto a basic law for all countries, too. “A country is of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Development should be intended for the benefit of its people and for the overall progress of society. The fruits of development should be shared by all countries for the common prosperity. This is a wish shared by both Asia and the rest of the world. Everything the Forum has done over the past 2 decades aims at development, facilitates development and serves development.

The development of Boao town exemplifies BFA’s contributions. Back then, Boao was an unknown small fishing village. Notwithstanding the streets lined with coconut grove, the spindrifts beating the shore and the Wanquan River flowing into the ocean there, the roads in the downtown were so earthy that it was tough to decide on where to step when rains turned them muddy. The per capita disposable annual income of residents was less than 3,000 RMB, so few that they had no choice but venture into the ocean for livelihood. The following 2 decades have seen Boao morph into a nationally prestigious resort where increasingly advanced star-rated hotels and exhibition facilities have sprung up and the transportation systems including roads, railways, high-speed rails and airports are highly interconnected. Boao now receives more than 4 million tourists every year, with the per capita disposable annual income exceeding 25,000 RMB.

Not only are the changes taking place in Boao the epitome of Hainan’s evolution, but they are that of the development of China and Asia. Fostering Asian economic integration, pooling positive energy for the development of Asia and the world, seeking development and facilitating cooperation amongst all countries are the philosophies behind all the events the Forum has and will organise. And these philosophes are displayed both in the orchestration of BFA conferences and in all respects of BFA’s work. The advocacy of multilateralism and the pursuit of win-win cooperation are the very theme reverberating in all BFA sessions. For concrete topics ranging from economics and finance to commerce and trade, from technological innovation to global governance, each of them carries the Forum's ardent expectation for boosting international cooperation and common development.

" This is a wish shared by both Asia and the rest of the world. Everything the Forum has done over the past 2 decades aims at development, facilitates development and serves development."

In recent years, topics pertaining to people's livelihood, such as health, culture and education, and rural revitalisation, have become the most concerned in all walks of life. In 2019, the Forum mingled “quality development” with “a better life” to form a separate topical module, in an effort to explore how to heighten people’s happiness and quality of life. In June of the same year, it managed to host the First Conference of the BFA Global Health Forum (GHF) in Qingdao. Themed by Health Beyond Health - in the Year of Sustainable Development 2030, this conference conducted profound and pragmatic discussions over the goal of “health for all”. Serving as a high-end integrated platform for dialogue and pragmatic cooperation in public health, it has been tremendously bolstered by international organisations including WHO and the public health departments of many countries.

Thematic conferences apart, last year, the Forum for the first time centred on the two topics of broad development - the poverty reduction and the sustainable development. It thus established research teams with professional institutions, launching in the same year Asia Poverty Reduction Report 2019 and Belt and Road Green Development Case Study Report that have drawn considerable attention from society. Furthermore, BFA is set to issue prior to the end of this year Asia Poverty Reduction Report 2020, a report that updates the latest progress Asian countries have made to date in poverty reduction and analyses the blow Covid-19 has dealt to the poor.

Keep Pace with the Time ————

Asia today performs much better than ever. The Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress Annual Report 2020 issued by the Forum estimates that the aggregate economic volume of Asia this year is expected to rise to more than half of that of the world for the first time in modern history. Looking ahead, the Forum, situated in a more promising Asia, will continue to preserve its unique resources, edges and influence, and will further innovate and forge ahead along with all shareholders.

The success of the BFA would not be possible without the leadership and guideline of previous and incumbent Board of Directors and the Council of Advisors, the attention and efforts of the initial countries and the steadfast support of the host country and Hainan province. Given its positioning as a platform for political-business dialogue, its take-off couldn’t come true, either, but for the participation of entrepreneurs and, in particular, the unremitting support of its partner and member enterprises. The pandemic has left many firms mired in trouble. In response, the Forum has built a bridge for communication between government and business through helping firms gripe policy trends and voice their demands. In a bid to help cushion the Covid-19 shock on enterprises, the Forum shortly rendered its partner and member enterprises assistance in purchasing supplies to counter the pandemic in China and invited experts from varying domains to study and analyse the Covid-19 impact on the economy. Thinking in their shoes, the Forum helped them weather the Covid-19 impact and relaunch their work and production. In the future, the Forum will double down on its efforts to diversify the content and form of services for the entrepreneurs. On the basis of a high-grade positioning, it will pay extra attention to promising firms and entrepreneurs in search of future industrial trendsetters and launch training projects led by the BFA Academy.

At the same time, the Boao Friend Circle continues to expand and grows increasingly professional. In these years, the Forum has developed a multi-faceted framework focused on annual conferences and underpinned by thematic conferences, regional cooperation conferences and research reports. Despite part of BFA’s events deferred due to the Covid-19, both the pandemic and the current international political and economic climate remain a robust proof of how visionary the Forum is to establish the GHF and other thematic conferences. In addition to the GHF and the imminent ISTIF, BFA also puts the Global Economic Development and Security Forum (GEDSF) and the Global Tourism Forum (GTF) on its agenda. These thematic conferences have diversified what the BFA events are about, stepped up the Boao clout on related topics and extended its reach to other professional spheres.

"Looking ahead, the Forum, situated in a more promising Asia, will continue to preserve its unique resources, edges and influence, and will further innovate and forge ahead along with all shareholders."

Marking the 20th anniversary for the establishment of the Forum, 2021 has vital transitional implications. To further tighten the ties amongst members of the Boao Family, the Forum will launch a series of events for its 20th anniversary one after another. Aside from Bridging Asia and the World for 20 Years, a special column unveiled on the BFA official website, it will organise the Commemoration Reception for the 20th Anniversary of BFA and other relative exhibitions, and issue commemorative books and stamps, etc. As BFA’s flagship event, the Annual Conference 2021(AC2021) will be the highlight amongst the 20th-anniversary series events. AC2021 will continue to align with the attributes of the time and to demonstrate that of political-business dialogues. On the premise that the health of the guests is ensured, the Forum will employ a new pattern to hold events marked by prioritised in-person conferences and additional virtual events. With such a new pattern, the Forum will build a favourable post-Covid-19 environment for the Boao Family to reunite, and also set up a valuable discussion platform for Asian and global elites to help the world overcome the impediments it may encounter in the post-pandemic era and to forge ahead for a shared future.

“Clearly understanding how vast the universe is, one remains sympathetic to the fate of the green grass.” When we look back to the early history of BFA, we recalled an inauguration ceremony 20 years ago in absence of spacious venues, deluxe hotels, or even decent dishes, but also an inauguration ceremony that appealed to a pool of intellectual giants with its unique glamour. Today, BFA has attained a global leverage, but still, it maintains an inclusive attitude, doing its utmost to build a better future for Asia, to bring benefits to the world, to seek development for all nations, and to foster peace for future generations.

Looking forward, the Forum will continue to maintain determined and assertive. Upholding globalisation and multilateralism, it will, along with people of vision in politics, business, academics, and media all over the world, conduct discussions over development issues to seek correspondent tactics and turn the global governance system fairer and more reasonable. We are convinced that with the joint efforts of the Boao Family, more wisdom will be brought on the BFA stage, and the Boao Forum for Asia, in the 20 years to come, will be even more closely linked with Asia and the world.