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Boao Forum in Hainan concludes events on global integration

2022-04-30

BOAO /China/, April 22. /TASS/. The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in eastern Hainan province concluded a series of events on regional and global economic integration on Friday. The sessions and discussions were another step toward strengthening multilateral contacts and the system of global governance, BFA Secretary General Li Baodong said at a closing press conference.

"Overall, the forum was successful and showed important results. It has deepened cooperation in combating pandemics, united efforts to promote global development, improved security in Asia and the world, and strengthened mutual understanding for global governance," he stressed.

Li Baodong mentioned that in 2022, Asian states (Indonesia, Thailand and China) will chair such associations as the G20, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the BRICS. "We can say that this is the year of Asia for international interaction," the secretary general added.

According to him, there are growing opportunities for BFA participants to strengthen multilateral mechanisms. "Even despite such negative factors as the re-emergence of the pandemic and anti-globalization trends, the states in our region still strive for economic integration," said Li Baodong.

 

As the forum head clarified, China continues to steadily develop and "plays an important role in helping countries emerge from the recession." "China's economy has been hit hard by negative factors, but on the whole it has remained stable and there has been an improvement in the long term," he said. "China provides a good opportunity for all nations to gain access to a large-scale national market."

The forum in the small town of Boao on the east coast of Hainan is held regularly since 2001 with 29 participating countries (Asia-Pacific nations). It did not take place in 2020 due to the pandemic, but in 2021 it was organised in an in-person format, and this time to ensure pandemic safety it will be held on 20-22 April in strict isolation (in a so-called bubble). The BFA is known as the Eastern Davos: it is a major platform for signing important agreements, coordinating positions between business and government representatives from Asia and all other regions of the world. Chinese authorities pay great attention to its development and consider it an effective instrument of soft diplomacy that helps boost and strengthen Beijing's international contacts.