The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA)
annual conference 2005 opened Saturday morning at the International
Conference Center in Boao, a scenic town in China's southernmost
island province of Hainan.
Jia
Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese
People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top advisory
body, delivered a keynote speech after the opening ceremony,
advocating to build a harmonious and prosperous Asia.
Jia told the audience of more than 1,200 political leaders,
business people, experts and scholars that China is committed to
developing good-neighborly relationship and partnership by
constantly deepening friendly relations and mutually beneficial
cooperation with other Asian countries.
The celebrities attending the annual conference include
Australian Premier John Howard, Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang
Shussel, King Gyanendra of Nepal, Afghanistan Vice President
AbdulKarim Khalili, Singapore Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and
Acting Chief-Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuan of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region.
"Right now, Asia is faced with a historic opportunity for
development," as all Asian peoples share the aspiration for peace,
stability, development and cooperation, said Jia.
Against the backdrop of surging economic globalization, many
Asian countries have succeeded in restructuring their economies,
accelerated their industrial upgrading, increased the level of
science and technology and maintained the development momentum.
In the process of regional integration, the Asian countries have
found themselves increasingly interdependent through closer
dialogue and coordination, visibly improved capacity of fending off
risks with a burgeoning regional network of cooperation, he
said.
However, Jia said, Asia is also faced with numerous difficulties
and challenges. "Historical disputes and present conflicts are
eroding the mutual trust among certain countries. Traditional and
non-traditional security threats, ranging from regional hot-spots
and terrorism to transnational crimes are intertwined to render
Asia insecure."
Other problems, such as ecological degradation, natural
disasters, communicable diseases and widening wealth gap are also
drags on Asia's development, Jia said.
Facing both opportunities and challenges, Jia suggested, "we
should build a harmonious Asia where countries coexist in amity
politically, conduct equal-footed and mutually beneficial
cooperation economically, trust one another with close coordination
on security matters, and complement each other culturally."
Jia said that Asian nations should endeavor to maintain peace
and stability, promote common development, push forward
comprehensive cooperation, and respect diversity.
Referring to the achievements China has made over the past 20
years, Jia said China has established a socialist market economy
system while the Chinese people are on the whole enjoying a life of
moderate prosperity along with progress in all social undertakings
in the country.
"China's development is closely linked with Asia's
prosperity,"Jia emphasized.
As the largest importer in Asia, China has begun to show its
potential as a new major investor and source of outbound tourists.
Dedicated to promoting multilateral security cooperation in the
region and facilitating peaceful settlement of regional hot-spots,
China has made a contribution to peace and stability in the
region.
China has also contributed to the regional integration by
actively participating in Asia-based regional economic cooperation,
he added.
"China's development is a peaceful one. Deeply seated in China's
history is a cultural tradition that honors promises and promotes
harmony among all nations. The humiliation and bullying they were
subjected to in the past have made the Chinese people cherish all
the more dearly their sovereignty, peace and stability," said
Jia.
At present, development is of overriding importance. China will
stay on the path of peaceful development, devoting all of its
resources to development.
"There is neither reason nor possibility for us to threaten
anyone," he said, adding that China will never seek hegemony even
if it gets more developed in the future. "This is our solemn pledge
that will never change."
A stable, open and prosperous China is bound to make even
greater contribution to peace and development in Asia, Jia
said.
The opening ceremony of 2005 BFA annual conference was presided
by BFA General-Secretary Long Yongtu. Chairman of the BFA board
Fidel Ramos delivered a welcoming speech. The theme of the annual
event is Asia Searching for Win-Win: New Role of Asia.
The participants will discuss such major topics as Asia-Europe
cooperation, world economic growth, the prospects of the new round
of World Trade Organization talks, the monetary policy and economic
growth, as well as China's real estate and automotive industries
and overseas investment.
Since the open regional forum was established in 2001, the BFA
has attracted a great number of Asian high-level officials,
businessmen, scholars from across the world to discuss regional and
global economic and political issue.
Some 380 journalists, including 150 from overseas news
organizations, have arrived to cover this year's annual
conference.
(Xinhua News Agency April 23, 2005)
