The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2003, originally planned for May, but postponed due to SARS, was held on November 2-3, in Boao, Hainan Province. 

China's successful control of the SARS epidemic in record time made it possible for the BFA to hold the conference at its headquarters in Boao this year. Construction of new exhibition & conference facilities, and a brand new 500-room hotel as well as development of additional infrastructure have fully equipped Boao to hold such large international conferences.

The theme of the conference was "Asia Searching for Win-Win: Development Through Cooperation," with the aim of generating new ideas for regional cooperation in Asia. The plenary sessions on both days provided an opportunity for Asian government leaders to interact with global business leaders and academics. All deliberated on such development prospects in the Asian economy as trade cooperation and financial security issues. At concurrent sessions in-depth discussions on such topics as IT industry in Asia, Balancing Role and Responsibility of the Media, Asian Economic Restructuring took place.

About 1,000 participants attended the conference. Prominent among them were government leaders from China and other Asian countries, economists from multinational corporations and universities around the world, and successful business leaders operating in Asia.

Established in February 2001, the Boao Forum for Asia is a non-governmental and non-profit-making international organization, has evolved into a high-level platform for Asian leaders form the government, business and academia to express views on Asia and the world. The first annual conference in April, 2002 was attended by then Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, ROK Prime Minister Lee Han-Dong, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and other Asian leaders.

(China Today April 19, 2004)