This photo shows the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 27, 2025. (Photo: Xinhua)
The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 kicked off on Thursday under the theme of "Building Trust in the Shifting Global Landscape." This year, more than 1,500 representatives from more than 60 countries and regions attended the opening ceremony. Amid the rise of unilateralism, the cloud of trade war and the sluggish global economic recovery, the international community is paying attention to the "choice of Asia" and calling for "Asian solutions." This event has conveyed the powerful roar of the Asian engine, injecting certainty into the world with the wisdom of regional cooperation.
At present, the world economy is facing a severe challenge. The trade protectionist policies and populist tendencies of some countries continue to fragment the global industrial chain. Despite the complexity and volatility of the external environment, Asia's economy is still showing strong resilience.
The Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress Annual Report 2025 released by the BFA projects that the weighted real GDP growth rate of Asia is estimated to reach 4.5 percent in 2025, and at purchasing power parity, the ratio of Asia's GDP among the global total is expected to rise to 48.6 percent in 2025. Asian economies, such as China, India, Vietnam, the Philippines, Mongolia, Cambodia and Indonesia, will continue to maintain a high growth rate of over 5 percent. Asia has, in fact, become the core engine of global growth and a well-deserved "stabilizing anchor" for the world economy.
A valuable consensus underpinning Asia's development is "openness," which translates economic complementarity into accelerated development. Nowadays, China's "new three" - new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products - are shipping to Laos, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries by the Lancang-Mekong Express service on the China-Laos Railway, while China's domestically built large cruise ship
Adora Magic City is carrying tourists from China, Japan and South Korea to cities including Shanghai, Fukuoka and Jeju.
From the to-be-jointly built AI innovation cooperation center signed by China and Laos to the Pakistani astronauts who will enter the Chinese space station in the future, these all demonstrate that countries reinforce each other in cooperation and move toward a more promising future.
According to the International Monetary Fund, the GDP of the members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will grow by 10.9 trillion dollars from 2023 to 2029, and Asian countries embracing openness are the first to enjoy the dividends of development.
Asia's developmental resilience is also rooted in the innovation of development models. Currently, Asia's R&D investment intensity and patent applications far exceed those of the rest of the world, and it is increasingly becoming a main character in science and technology innovation globally.
In addition, Asia has demonstrated strong development potential in the areas of digital economy and green economy. With the wide application of technologies, such as 5G, AI and big data, the construction of digital infrastructure in Asia is advancing rapidly, providing strong support for economic transformation and upgrading. Asia is already at the forefront of a new round of industrial revolution.
This year's BFA has kept abreast of the pulse of the times, with more relevant and forward-looking topics, reflecting the vibrant development potential of a "diverse Asia" and amplifying the voice of the Global South. This change reflects BFA's redefinition of multilateralism - It is not a "talking shop" dominated by a few major powers, but rather a "task force" focused on addressing regional and global challenges.
Today, while the event retains the name "Boao Forum for Asia," its influence has spread all around the world, attracting scholars and entrepreneurs from many countries across the world, including the US, Norway and Italy, to actively participate and discuss development. Evolving from the "Asian Davos" to a "global public good," the forum not only provides a platform for Asian countries to jointly discuss development but also integrates Chinese and Asian wisdom into the global governance dialogue.
While the West remains mired in the illusion of the "end of history," Asian countries have joined hands at the BFA to make their voices heard - promoting development as a means to resolve conflicts, empowering cooperation through rules and fostering consensus through cultural connections. Former UN secretary-general and now BFA Chairman Ban Ki-moon noted that Asia is a leading voice for multilateralism, free trade and globalization. He emphasized that the "Asian Miracle," to a large extent, is the miracle of globalization and deep integration with the world economy. Former Thai deputy prime minister and foreign minister Don Pramudwinai said that, in the past years, countries raced forward on the "highway" of economic globalization. However, as new "obstacles" emerge on this road, global collaboration and united efforts are now essential. Every country can contribute to a more inclusive and equitable form of economic globalization. These remarks strongly underscore that Asia's development is a harmonious symphony of regional cooperation.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Chinese President Xi Jinping proposing the idea of building an Asian community with a shared future. Thanks to the concerted efforts of all parties, significant progress has been made in this endeavor, contributing meaningfully to global development. Amid the unprecedented changes of the century, Asia, like a great ship, is navigating through the waves and forging ahead while constantly evolving into an anchor for world peace, a powerhouse for global growth and a new pacesetter for international cooperation. In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the BFA Annual Conference 2025 on Thursday, Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang extended a sincere invitation to businesses from countries all over the world to invest and operate in China, participate in the process of Chinese modernization and share in China's development opportunities. China has always been a stabilizing force for the development of both Asia and the world, and we believe that Asian countries can work together to create an even brighter future.
