Li Baodong, secretary general of BFA Secretariat Photo: Courtesy of BFA Secretariat

China is set to hold the annual Boao Forum in the coastal city of Boao, Hainan Province in coming spring, despite recent COVID-19 resurgence, but the exact date will depend on the pandemic situation.

The news was announced by Li Baodong, secretary general of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Secretariat at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, where Li briefed the media on preparations for the 2022 BFA Annual Conference.

This year's event will be held in-person, supplemented with online links. Leaders and government officials of various countries and regions, government leaders, heads of international organizations, guests from the circles of business and academia, as well as the media will gather and discuss post-pandemic development for Asia and the world, Li said. He emphasized the necessity to actively shape the post-pandemic development trend with a forward-looking perspective.

Last year's BFA was held from April 18-21 in Boao under the theme of "A World in Change: Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Cooperation."  It was the world's first large-scale in-person international conference in 2021 thanks to effective virus-control measures in China, attended by about 2,000 guests.

Li said that this year's conference is due to convene in the spring although the exact date has to be carefully planned, and he's confident that the conference will be a success.

According to Li, the 2022 BFA will mainly discuss issues of six specifications: the pandemic, the world economy, the green recovery and sustainable development, the digital economy, international cooperation, and the governance progress of regional cooperation in Asia.

As the conference is being held while technology trade and public health are constantly politicized, hamstringing global economic recovery and shared development, the BFA will advocate multilateralism and closer international cooperation, while promoting global governance, said Li.

Li especially mentioned the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), saying the BFA annual conference will explore the opportunities of the RCEP and its future development.

The RCEP came into effect on January 1, marking the formation of the world's largest free trade zone in terms of trade volume. The agreement first came into effect in the first batch of 10 countries - six ASEAN members and China, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.