The opening ceremony of the 2005 Fortune Global Forum, which is scheduled to convene in Beijing from May 16-18, will be held at the Great Hall of the People instead of the Temple of Heaven, organizers said at a news briefing on Sunday morning.

This year’s forum, which is expected to attract 847 participants and 432 companies, is co-organized by Fortune magazine, China’s State Council Information Office (SCIO) and the Beijing municipal government’s Information Office.

Among this year’s participants are 253 foreign companies, including 74 Fortune Global 500 companies.

This year’s forum is the 11th since it was first started in 1995, and the third to be held in China. Shanghai and Hong Kong hosted the event in 1999 and 2001 respectively.

A total of 25 Chinese distinguished guests, including government leaders, ministers and experts will address the forum, according to Jiang Weiqiang, a division director of SCIO.

Chinese President Hu Jintao will deliver a keynote speech at the opening ceremony on Monday evening. Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan will make a special address on the first day, while Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People’s Congress, will make a statement on the issue of the world economy. Also attending the forum are 25 senior government officials including Ma Kai, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, Bo Xilai, minister of commerce, Wang Xudong, minister of information industry, Xu Guanhua, minister of science and technology, Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China, Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, and Zhao Qizheng, minister of SCIO.

“The forum will certainly help in introducing Beijing to the world. Through the forum, foreigners will have a better understanding of China’s progress, development and opportunities. It will also increase multinational companies’ confidence in China and encourage their further participation in China’s reform and opening-up” Jiang added.

Although this is the third time that the forum is being held in China, Robert Bierman, president of Fortune's conference division, said that this forum will be quite different from the previous two.

“These are interesting times for the forum to be in Beijing because of the increasingly important role China has taken; not in the marketplace (as was discussed) in Shanghai, not in Asia’s development (as was discussed) in Hong Kong, but globally,” he said.

“Beijing is the place where many decisions are made. We believe the dialogue this year will be more focused on how global cooperation can be achieved, and how China will continue growing,” Bierman added.

Due to weather considerations, the venue for the forum’s opening ceremony will move from the Temple of Heaven to the Great Hall of the People, said Ms. Wang Hui, director of the Beijing municipal government’s Information Office.

Forecasts from the meteorological department show that moderate rain is expected in Beijing in the afternoon of May 16, the scheduled time for the opening ceremony, she explained.

On Monday, China sports and culture roundtables, a warm-up to the forum, will be held concurrently. 

(China.org.cn by staff reporter Tang Fuchun May 15, 2005)