As the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, foreign officials and experts have highlighted the increasingly important role of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) as a pivotal platform for multilateral cooperation to advance the economic growth and sustainable development worldwide.
Former Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai noted that in the context of a rapidly changing world, the BFA has become even more important.
"As the world is experiencing great transformations, the Boao Forum for Asia has become even more important. While some countries persist in pursuing unilateralism, the forum has been advocating multilateral cooperation, joint consultation, and win-win cooperation. It strives to fulfill President Xi Jinping's vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind. Achieving this ambitious goal hinges on fostering multilateral cooperation, and the Boao Forum for Asia has established itself as a vital platform for such engagement," he said.
Echoing the Thai foreign minister, Zambian economist Esther Banda highlighted the forum's critical role in helping Asia address challenges in politics, economy, and security.
"The Boao Forum plays a very big role, because it is trying to address challenges across the political arena, the economic arena, security issues in Asia. So by trying to address these challenges, it tries to enable most of these countries to face head-on challenges through key strategic solutions," she said.
At the forum, foreign officials also spoke highly of China's technological advancements and the Belt and Road Initiative.
"China has emerged as a global leader in scientific and technological innovation, setting benchmarks across Asia and beyond. By fostering international collaboration, China can share its advanced technologies, including AI, to support other countries in improving living standards and advancing the sustainable development of humanity," said Surakiart Sathirathai.
"The Belt and Road is the most important project in the world. When you build the motorway, a railway via land from China's Xinjiang, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Russia, Europe, you create the GDP along the way, you create a self-developing model where you invest in infrastructure and then the fact that there is infrastructure increase the economy of that region," said Michele Geraci, former undersecretary of state at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development.
Foreign officials, experts hail Boao Forum as pivotal platform for multilateral cooperation
The 2025 China Science Fiction Convention, themed "Science Dreams, Creating the Future," opened this week at Beijing's Shijingshan District Shougang Park, featuring over 30 exhibitions and events aimed at merging science fiction with technological and industrial development.
Co-organized by the China Association for Science and Technology and the Beijing Municipal Government, the ongoing event runs parallel to the 2025 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference. It emphasizes commercialization and cross-sector collaboration, spotlighting innovations ranging from aerospace prototypes to AI-driven digital human technology.
The convention features over 30 activities across five key segments, including an opening ceremony, professional forums, competitions, and industrial promotion events, with an emphasis on the full-chain cooperation and the commercialization of new sci-fi products and projects.
Visitors encountered futuristic displays upon entering the venue, including the debut of a life-sized model of the Baidi Type B -- a fictional 6th generation stealth fighter spaceplane reflecting China's ambitions in advanced aerospace engineering.
At an AI holography exhibit, participants generated their 1:1 digital avatars in minutes using real-time motion and voice replication.
Nearby, a screen displayed an interactive "Wukong" digital figure that mirrored users' movements without wearable devices, powered by markerless motion capture cameras. "We bring our in-house markerless motion capture technology here. Our existing marked motion capture system has already achieved sub-millimeter precision, which has been successfully applied in AAA games like the highly popular Black Myth: Wukong, as well as in film-grade special effects production," said an exhibitor.
"I experienced a lot of futuristic technologies and scenarios, and I think what's been presented is a very modern society," said a visitor.
Parents and children crowded exhibits featuring popular sci-fi themes.
"My son likes the science and fiction stuff, and he has read novels in this topic like the Three Body. Usually it is rare to see such science fiction exhibitions with so many exhibits altogether, so I want him to get more personal feel here," said another visitor.
On the other hand, the Zhongguancun Science Fiction Industry Innovation Center launched an immersive exhibition spanning 2,000 square meters.
The convention runs through Monday, with organizers aiming to position it as a global hub for sci-fi innovation.
Futuristic space fighter, AI-powered holographic technique highlighted at 2025 CSFC
