Delegations from Europe have attended the ongoing Boao Forum in south China's Hainan Province, expressing hope for deeper cooperation with Asia amid a dramatic global shift in economic prowess and innovative capabilities toward the continent.
The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) 2025 Annual Conference opened in the town of Boao on Tuesday, with discussions revolving around four main topics including global trends, growth, outlooks and new drivers.
Themed "Asia in the Changing World: Towards a Shared Future", the four-day event has attracted nearly 2,000 attendees from more than 60 countries and regions to participate in more than 50 events as well as many bilateral events.
This year, a growing presence of European delegations has become a new highlight. Many of them believe Asia, especially China, is crucial for their future development.
"Over the last ten years, I think two very important things have happened. First of all, the level of technological development in China has increased very fast. And China is now present in all the segments of manufacturing that the UN and manufacturing organizations identify, and this is the only country in the world which is present in all the sections of manufacturing. So it an important place for developing business, for developing new technologies for European companies," said Joel Ruet, chairman of The Bridge Tank, a Paris-based research institute and networking organization.
Esko Aho, Former Prime Minister of Finland, emphasized that Asia could help to actually take concrete actions to fulfill ideas.
"I think it's very important to understand one important message coming from this forum -- we need ideas, principles, strategies, but we need also practical solutions, green transition or energy transformation. They are not only words, but they are objectives to be implemented by using new technologies. And I think China and Asia can play and is playing a big role in that," Aho said.
These delegates' optimism is shared by a report published by the forum on Tuesday titled "Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress", which showed that the global reliance of foreign investment on Asian economies has picked up despite some fluctuations, reaching around 60 percent in recent years. In the face of strong headwinds for economic globalization, Asia has achieved greater success in deepening regional economic integration.
"If you look at the global economy, it has very clearly moved towards the East, towards Asia. But not just the economy. If I look at demographics, if I look at the fight against climate change, if I look at innovation and technology, a lot of this is happening in those parts of the world, which is probably why we find ourselves in the Boao Forum," said Arancha Gonzalez, former Spanish Prime Minister.
The Boao Forum for Asia was founded in 2001 and offers a platform for dialogue between leaders from government, business, academia and other organizations to discuss economic, social and environmental issues, promote economic cooperation and support the sustainable development of Asia's economy.
European delegates call for stronger cooperation with Asian nations
