Boao Forum begins in Hainan

The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2019 began on March 26 and will run until March 29 in Boao, Hainan province. Premier Li Keqiang will attend the opening ceremony and deliver the keynote speech on March 28.

With the slogan "shared future, concerted action, and common development", this year's forum will focus on the open world economy, multilateralism, regional cooperation, global governance, innovation, development, and modern hotspots. A total of 66 formal events, including forums, CEO-dialogues, and round-table talks, will be carried out by over 2,000 delegates. 

Topics related to the open world economy will include global economic prospects, the opening of the service sector, WTO reform, cross-border e-commerce, free trade zones, and free trade ports. 

Multilateralism, regional cooperation, and global governance topics will include the Belt and Road Initiative and the island economy. 

Discussions on innovation will touch on issues like sustainable development, 5G networks, Internet of Things, the "AI" era, big data, the sharing economy, and the marine economy. 

Topics such as rural and urban construction, manufacturing, finance, consumption, the property market, and the securities sector will be delved into during discussions on quality development.

Discussions on modern hotspots will consist of the South China Sea Forum, a health forum, dialogues between university presidents, and round-table talks by youth, women, and media leaders.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and is a crucial year for strengthening reform. Hainan will guarantee the annual conference  goes smoothly and spare no effort in ensuring the success of the ASEAN-China Governors/Mayors' Dialogue, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, the island economy sub-forum, a series of forums focusing on Hainan, and events for soliciting foreign investment.