"We will use all the advantages of Hainan's free trade port by cooperating with other countries to stimulate prestigious shopping, develop advanced medicine and quality education," he stressed. According to Feng Fei, Hainan is interested in developing strategic contacts with neighboring states and regions, in building up productive trade and economic relations and promoting innovative cooperation.
As the forum's Secretary General Li Baodong noted earlier, the forum became "the first major international event in 2021, planned mainly in person." Due to the pandemic, many speakers have joined the discussions and are delivering speeches via video conference. As in previous years, renowned scientists, specialists and political scientists, prominent public figures and businessmen, politicians and members of governments from all over the world, as well as leaders of key international organizations gathered in Boao. This time the number of guests who arrived in Boao exceeded 2,000 people (including employees and service personnel - 4,100).
Journalists were given the opportunity to cover a variety of panel sessions, including a sub-forum dedicated to resolving international disputes and tensions in the South China Sea. A number of thematic discussions were held with the participation of experts, heads of big companies, representatives of the Chinese government and other countries.
The list of the most interesting issues for discussion includes globalization and the promotion of trade and economic relations in the post-pandemic era, the WTO reform, international efforts to alleviate poverty and create new mechanisms in the healthcare sector, the development of network technologies and the digital economy during the period of global transformations, the problem of intellectual property protection, the prospects for the formation of the Comprehensive Regional Economic Partnership (RCEP), the future of 5G technologies and AI (artificial intelligence), as well as issues such as food security, efficient disposal of plastic, aging of the population in certain countries, protecting the interests of small and medium-sized businesses, maintaining reliable production chains, universal vaccination against coronavirus, fighting for the environment and minimizing the negative consequences of natural disasters.
Boao Forum for Asia
The forum has been held regularly since 2001 and celebrates its 20th anniversary. In this regard, three commemorative books were recently published by Hainan's propaganda department of the Provincial Party Committee. In 2020, the forum was supposed to take place on March 24-27, however, due to the coronavirus epidemic, it was decided not to organize the event. Prior to that, in the entire history, this annual event was canceled only once - in 2003, when an outbreak of SARS was recorded in China: then, instead of spring, it passed in November.
The forum in Boao is called the "Eastern Davos" - it is a major platform for signing important agreements, coordinating positions between representatives of business and government circles in many countries. One of the key tasks of the forum is to create new opportunities and strengthen mechanisms that contribute to boosting trade and economic cooperation between Asian countries and other regions, and to establish effective international humanitarian exchanges amid globalization.
