On March 29, the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia came to an end. In four days, nearly 2,000 representatives from more than 60 countries and regions conducted in-depth discussions in more than 40 sub-forums and related activities, sparked ideas, and widely reached consensus, contributing wisdom and strength to promoting economic growth, improving global governance, and expanding cooperation platforms.

"Creating a Future with Responsible Action"

Since its establishment in 2001, the Boao Forum for Asia has been based in Asia and oriented to the world. It has played an important role in building Asian consensus, promoting Asian cooperation, and building an Asian community with a shared future, and has become a window for the international community to observe and understand China's development.

In today's world, the century-old changes are accelerating, the world economy is recovering sluggishly, and peace and development are facing severe challenges. This year's forum annual meeting is themed "Asia and the World: Common Challenges, Common Responsibilities", which has a strong practical significance and reflects the common voice of the international community to unite and cooperate to meet challenges and promote development through openness and inclusiveness.

Inside and outside the venue, representatives from the political, business and academic circles of various countries fully exchanged and discussed important topics such as "world economy", "scientific and technological innovation", "social development", "international cooperation" and "facing challenges together", singing the strong voice of peaceful development and win-win cooperation, and finding solutions to the challenges facing the world today.

Ban Ki-moon, Chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia, said that the Boao Forum for Asia is an important platform for discussing the urgent issues facing emerging markets in Asia and the world. During the annual meeting, the guests held inspiring and fruitful exchanges and discussions. All countries face common challenges and should share responsibilities. "I hope that all parties will think about the reality with a dialectical perspective and create the future with responsible actions."

On the afternoon of March 29, Li Baodong, Secretary-General of the Boao Forum for Asia, said at the closing press conference of the annual meeting that this year's annual meeting has achieved important and positive results, issued an important call for "unity and cooperation to promote development together", and reached a series of important consensuses. All parties have a clearer understanding of the challenges facing the world today. Only by unity and cooperation can we better respond to challenges. Asian countries should jointly maintain regional peace and security and maintain the positive momentum of Asia as the center of global economic growth. China is the mainstay of sustainable development of the world economy and is expected to continue to be the country that contributes the most to world economic growth.

Today, Asia has become the most dynamic and growth-potential region in the world, with an economic output accounting for 40% of the world and a contribution to global economic growth of more than 70%. Charles Dallara, partner of Swiss Partners Group and former chairman of the Institute of International Finance, said that Asia is a vibrant and attractive investment destination. The Boao Forum for Asia brings together views from all sides and contributes wisdom to the development of Asia and the world.

Boao Forum for Asia director and former US Secretary of Commerce Gutierrez said that different countries have different histories, systems and cultures, and we should seek a basis for common cooperation. The Boao Forum for Asia helps promote dialogue and cooperation among Asian economies.

"The joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative is of great significance to strengthening connectivity"

"How to jointly build the "Digital Silk Road"?" "What are the key points of "hard connectivity" and "soft connectivity" in the next stage?" "How to drive the market to allocate resources to green and low-carbon development?"... At the "Belt and Road" Green Investment and Financing Roundtable Forum, the High-Quality Joint Construction of the Belt and Road Initiative Sub-Forum and the Joint Construction of the Belt and Road Initiative Ministerial Media Meeting, all parties shared case results and made suggestions on promoting the high-quality development of the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The Belt and Road Initiative has been proposed for more than 10 years and has become a road of cooperation, opportunity and prosperity for the co-construction countries to work together for development. "The joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative is of great significance to strengthening connectivity." Yevgeny Vinokulov, Chief Economist of the Eurasian Development Bank, said that China has helped to improve the level of regional economic integration in Asia, giving regional countries more opportunities to share the opportunities brought by China's high-quality development.

In an interview with our reporter, Bemanya Twebazi, Director General of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization, frequently mentioned flagship projects of the "Belt and Road" jointly built by China and Africa, such as the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway and the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway. "This initiative is a popular international public product that has improved the level of infrastructure construction in African countries and brought tangible benefits to the local people."

Frank Risberman, Director of the Global Green Growth Institute, said that under the framework of jointly building the "Belt and Road", China has brought green investment to the co-building countries, including a number of projects including electrified railways and clean energy, and the joint construction of a green "Belt and Road" will further promote world economic growth. "We must further strengthen cooperation with China and other Asian countries in the fields of energy conservation and emission reduction, biodiversity protection, and reduction of plastic waste to create a more sustainable future for mankind."

"The joint construction of the "Belt and Road" has entered a new stage of high-quality development, and the future is exciting." Chakrabarty, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, introduced that Chinese smartphones have entered African countries and driven the development of the local digital economy. "Jointly building the 'Digital Silk Road' will add impetus to global digital connectivity."

"We are full of confidence and expectations for the future of the Chinese market"

In the next five years, China's import and export of goods is expected to exceed 32 trillion US dollars, and the potential of the super-large-scale market with a population of more than 1.4 billion will continue to be released. Sub-forums such as "Investing in the Future of Asia", "China's Economic Outlook" and "China-Europe Entrepreneurs Dialogue" focused on the Chinese economy, and people from many countries positively evaluated China's sharing of opportunities with other countries.

Today, China is already the main trading partner of more than 140 countries and regions, the main source of investment for more and more countries, and one of the most important investment destinations for most countries. Many foreign companies have expressed their confidence in the prospects for China's economic development through practical actions of investing in China.

At the "China Economic Outlook" sub-forum, Dai Pu, co-president of Roland Berger's Global Management Committee, said that over the past decades, more and more multinational companies have benefited from China's economic growth and achieved success. "China is an important participant in the global value chain. At present, China is constantly expanding its opening up, promoting industrial upgrading and green and low-carbon development, and creating more opportunities for foreign companies."

"New quality productivity", "high-quality development" and "innovation-driven" and other hot words triggered extensive discussions at the annual meeting sub-forum. Liu Jiangang, managing partner of KPMG China Consulting Services, said that in the global industrial chain, technologies such as artificial intelligence provide a solid foundation and source of power for industrial innovation. "China has shown its firm determination to promote technological innovation and digital transformation. KPMG will increase its layout in the Chinese market and help China's high-quality development."

Reed Tsai, senior consultant of the Cohen Group in the United States, pays close attention to international investment in medicine, consumer goods and energy. "China has released a series of positive signals of expanding opening up and win-win cooperation. We are full of confidence and expectations for the future of the Chinese market."

The sky is high and the sea is vast by the Wanquan River. The Boao Forum for Asia brings together the forces of unity, cooperation and common development, and will surely create a more prosperous and beautiful future for Asia and the world.

(Reporters Gong Ming, Wang Xiaobo, Wang Di, Ren Yan, Wang Haohua, Guo Xueyan and Qi Zhiming participated in the interview and writing)

People's Daily (Page 03, March 30, 2024)

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