Why Boao forum attracts worldwide attention

The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference 2014 opened on April 8 under the theme of "Asia's New Future: Identifying New Growth Driver", and will last for four days. Asia and its emerging countries are currently in a crucial period of reform - what are the future prospects for China's economy, and what about the wider Asian economy? The Boao Forum will give us the answers.  [Special coverage]

China's competitiveness is on the up

China's competitiveness is improving, and now China is unleashing its new developing forces and offering its experience to other Asian countries.

According to the Boao Forum for Asia Asian Competitiveness 2014 Annual Report, China's competitiveness is steadily rising, and Chinese business is playing a more important role in Asia. According to the report, China's competitiveness ranked 9th among 37 Asian economies, improving on last year's position. Under the guidance of the Chinese government, Asia's largest economy maintained a 7.7% growth rate in 2013, and was not much affected by financial turbulence in the emerging markets.

Seeking new drivers for Asian growth

In 2014, Asia and its emerging markets are entering a crucial period of reform. Secretary General of the Boao Forum for Asia Zhou Wenzhong said during a press conference that the Asian economy has kept a strong impetus in economic integration, but in recent years, trade has been declining, and economic integration is beginning to slow down. With current uncertainty about the future development of worldwide value chains, Asian countries should continue to promote economic integration and seek new engines of growth through structural reform.

The World Bank published its biannual report on the economic situation of East Asia and the Pacific region on April 7, which forecast stable economic growth in East Asia and the Pacific region this year. Bert Hofman, the World Bank's Chief Economist for the East Asia and Pacific Region said that to maintain a high long-term growth, the developing countries of East Asia should double their efforts to improve structural reform, enhance capacity for domestic growth, and boost market confidence.

Greater global attention

Viewing the nationality of Boao guests, visitor numbers from Europe and the U.S. mirror the number of Chinese guests - one third of the total. 150 guests are high executives of multinational companies, such as the vice president of Microsoft, the president of Volvo, the president of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Chairman of Tesco.

Topics and discussions of the forum extend beyond Asia this year. The Boao committee has set up four exclusive conferences for European, American, Russian, and Australian units, and their leaders, top entrepreneurs, and economists are also invited to attend the discussions in these conferences.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), will attend the "Energy and Financial Dialogue between China and Russia" as the guest of Boao. Speaking about China's economy, he said that China is now promoting market-based reform, and vigorously developing its national financial market. So when it comes time for financial and economic cooperation between Russian companies and the Asia Pacific region, he will give greater consideration to China's financial market.

This is edited and translated from a Chinese article