Boao forum sends reassuring message to unstable, uncertain world

As crises flare across global hotspots – from geopolitical conflicts to rising protectionism – a strikingly different scene unfolded in the coastal town of Boao in the southern Chinese province of Hainan.

Amid the tranquility of the small town, the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference opened with a timely theme: "Asia in the Changing World: Toward a Shared Future," offering a rare space for cooperation and dialogue in an increasingly fractured world.

"Our world is experiencing far greater instability and uncertainty," Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said at the conference's opening ceremony on Thursday morning.

Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, called for strengthening mutual trust, enhancing win-win cooperation, promoting economic globalization, and safeguarding the free trade system.

Since Tuesday, when the BFA annual conference began its panels and sub-forums, the world has witnessed a series of escalating crises.

US President Donald Trump announced plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on all vehicles and auto parts imported into the United States, a move seen as expanding trade protectionism. In the Middle East, Yemen's Houthi group launched fresh attacks on a US aircraft carrier in the Red Sea and "military targets" in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. Meanwhile, in East Asia, deadly wildfires engulfed parts of the Republic of Korea, claiming lives and causing damage.

Against this backdrop, Boao became more than just a venue for speeches; it became a space for confronting common challenges. Participants delved into issues that transcend borders, from building an open global economy and accelerating modernization in the Global South to addressing the climate crisis, demographic shifts, and the implications of artificial intelligence (AI).

Asian economic integration

Addressing the opening ceremony, Ding said that significant progress has been made in building an Asian community with a shared future over the past decade.

He added that regional economic integration has been strengthened, and Asia's share in the global economy is steadily rising.

Highlighting the profound global transformations and the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, BFA Chairman and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the "Asian miracle" as, to a large extent, a product of globalization, free trade, and open regionalism.

Asian economic integration, many speakers noted, is gaining momentum, with regional frameworks like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership serving as a cornerstone for deepening economic ties.

The RCEP has emerged as an important anchor for global free trade, said Kuang Xianming, deputy head of the China Institute for Reform and Development, adding that the world's largest free trade agreement keeps opening up regional markets and advancing regional liberalization.

The RCEP includes 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its five free trade agreement partners, namely China, Japan, the ROK, Australia, and New Zealand.

Signs of growing cooperation were also seen in a recent high-level economic dialogue between China and Japan, which reached 20 consensus points on collaboration in areas such as green development, environmental protection, and elderly care services, among others.

Meanwhile, a BFA report identified China and ASEAN as the most appealing economies in Asia. It noted that the inward and outward foreign direct investment dependence of Asian economies on the region itself reached 49.15 percent in 2023, underscoring the region's growing economic interdependence.

Answers for an uncertain world

For many participants, the BFA annual conference was more than just an event for Asia. It served as a reminder that, amid global turbulence, platforms for dialogue and trust-building still exist and still matter.

The Global South, whose economies contribute 80 percent to world economic growth, took center stage at the meeting.

South-South cooperation today is greener, smarter, and more inclusive, said Xiaojun Grace Wang, Trust Fund Director of UN Office for South-South Cooperation, calling on the Global South nations to seize this era's opportunities by enhancing collaboration on digital and data-driven solutions for sustainable development.

Climate change and the governance of emerging technologies also dominated conversations.

Helena McLeod, deputy director general and head of the Green Growth Planning & Implementation Division at the Global Green Growth Institute, underscored the vital role of legislation in accelerating the global green transition. "The legislative approaches have to be addressed, and that includes the carbon pricing and pollution control policies."

On AI, experts have warned of the risks of unregulated development. "If countries fail to anticipate and manage the risks of AI, they may find themselves inadequately prepared when challenges arise," said Zeng Yi, a researcher with the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

China's reform and opening up continue to draw global attention. Since launching the drive in 1978, the country has transformed from an impoverished nation into a market-oriented economic powerhouse, driving high-quality development and creating opportunities shared with the rest of the world.

Its GDP grew by 5 percent year on year in 2024, ranking among the world's fastest-growing major economies while continuing to contribute about 30 percent to global economic growth.

China's resolve to deepen reform and opening up, Ban noted, has bolstered confidence in inclusive globalization and an open world economy, injected fresh impetus into a strong and balanced global recovery, and created new opportunities for international cooperation.

"Opening up is a distinct hallmark of Chinese modernization," Ding said, adding that the country will steadily expand institutional opening up, further improve market access for foreign investors, and expand trials to open sectors such as telecommunications, medical services, and education.

"We warmly welcome businesses from all countries to invest and operate in China, participate in the process of Chinese modernization, and share in China's development opportunities," he added.