The coastal town of Boao in Hainan Province is blessed with all the necessary elements for a popular tropical resort. Yet, with a name which means abundant fat fish, it remained an obscure fishing village until it was inaugurated as the permanent venue of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference in 2002.

From March 26 to 29, it was again host to the yearly gathering, with more than 2,000 participants from home and abroad, under the theme Shared Future, Concerted Action, Common Development.

"Strong support for multilateralism and globalization is the most important outcome and most encouraging message of this year's annual meeting," said Li Baodong, Secretary General of the BFA, at a press conference concluding the forum.

"The message this conference wishes to convey is unequivocal: We are on the same planet, in the same boat and with a shared future," said BFA Chairman Ban Ki-moon at the opening plenum. "There is no alternative solution to our common challenges such as climate change, income inequality and sustainable growth. We must work together, under the multilateral framework, through close coordination, cooperation and dialogue, and with concerted actions."

A globalized world

The forum was held amid a downturn in international trade and investment and rising protectionism. The world economy shows weakening momentum, with growing uncertainties and volatility. Recently, major international institutions have lowered their expectations for world economic growth in 2019.

On March 28, while addressing the opening plenum, Premier Li Keqiang stressed that all parties should work together to uphold the UN-centered international system and rules-based multilateral trading system, and advance reform in the global governance system.

"Decades of progress in economic globalization has shaped a sophisticated international division of labor and linked up the industrial, innovation and value chains of various countries, making them ever more interdependent in economic development," Premier Li said. "In the face of world economic headwinds and other common challenges, no country can stay immune or resolve all the problems."

He called on countries to seek mutually beneficial cooperation and boost world economic development with an open mind, an inclusive approach and concerted actions.

"The trajectory of the world economy after the Second World War shows that multilateralism is the right way to ensure lasting prosperity and development," Premier Li commented. China stands for fair trade and has taken concrete actions to uphold fairness and equity, the lack of which would make trade unsustainable, he said.

"Leaders from other countries and some business elites have also reiterated their support for globalization, free trade and multilateralism from their respective perspectives," Li Baodong noted.

The BFA secretary general said that participants called for developing an open world economy and agreed that countries must adapt to globalization rather than resist it, and moreover, they should rebuild confidence in multilateralism.

"Multilateralism is an important guarantee for globalization," said Chen Deming, former Minister of Commerce, noting that China adheres to multilateralism complemented with regional cooperation. Under the multilateral system, differentiated economic and trade treatment for developing countries addresses the imbalances of development in different regions and enables relatively fair competition between emerging countries and developed countries, he said.

Liu Zhenmin, UN Under Secretary General, also stated his support for multilateralism in global governance. "I am very concerned about the threats to globalization and the consequences of the absence of multilateralism on global governance," he warned.

Unilateral actions aggravate confrontation between countries, said James Bacchus, Director of the Center for Global Economic and Environmental Opportunity at the University of Central Florida. He is a founding judge and former chairman of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Only by working together can the value of the WTO and its 164 members be given full play, Bacchus said.

Lakhdar Brahimi, former UN and Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria and former Foreign Minister of Algeria, expressed his frustration with unilateralism. If one country, any country, does not follow the rules, it will be bad, he said.

If a country just stands its own ground and imposes its ideas on others, this Cold War mentality is typical unilateralism, he said, stating that countries should advocate multilateralism and revitalize international organizations.

Revamping governance

The existing global governance system was established after World War II and has existed for more than 70 years. But in recent years, the rise of unilateralism, protectionism and populism has posed unprecedented challenges to the system. While a good number of BFA participants advocate multilateralism, they also believe the current global governance system needs an overhaul.

The world economic system rests on three pillars, namely, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the WTO, said Jin Liqun, President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. He said that the system set up decades ago no longer fits since the balance of economic power has changed.

"Over seven decades, many things have changed and many developed countries have lost their competitiveness in many sectors. This has led to domestic problems in these countries because they refuse to reform on their own and instead look to blame other countries," he said.

"On the global level, the system needs to be overhauled. At a domestic level, you have to reform and adapt," he added. "We should sit down and reform the multilateral system."

In order to adapt to changes in the world's political and economic pattern, the global governance system should be moved toward a fairer and more equitable direction in order to provide stronger support to global growth, Premier Li said. However, he also stressed that reform does not mean starting all over again, or serving the interests of a handful of countries.

Premier Li reiterated that China supports necessary reforms to the WTO, but insisted that its basic principles and core values must be adhered to. "The interests and concerns of all parties must be effectively addressed. And the differences in countries' development levels must be factored in. In particular, much attention needs to be given to protecting the rights and interests of developing countries and narrowing the North-South gap," he said.

A great challenge for the WTO is that it is being marginalized, said Chong Quan, President of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies, pointing out that the most pressing issue for the WTO is to revitalize its dispute settlement mechanism.

Resolving trade disputes is one of the WTO's core activities. Its members have agreed to use the multilateral system of settling disputes instead of taking unilateral action. The WTO's Dispute Settlement Body decides the outcome of a trade dispute on the recommendation of the Dispute Panel and for appealed cases, on a report from the Appellate Body.

The Appellate Body is made up of seven permanent members with each serving a four-year term. An appeal must be heard by at least three judges.

At present, due to various reasons such as judges' poor health or the expiration of their term, the Appellate Body urgently needs to add new members. The selection process for members can only be started with a unanimous agreement by all WTO members. However, due to U.S. obstruction, it has been difficult to start the judge selection process. Meanwhile, understaffing will soon result in a backlog of trade disputes or even the paralysis of the organization.

Currently, Bacchus said the Appellate Body has only three members, and in December, there will only be one judge left, leaving the WTO dispute solution system bogged down, posing an existential crisis.

He suggested that the number of Appellate Body staff should be increased from seven to 10, and that they should be full-time rather than part-time. In addition, he proposed that some members be allowed to serve a second term.

The WTO decision-making body is not efficient enough, which is one of the reasons why it is facing problems, said Zhou Xiaochuan, Vice Chairman of the BFA and former Governor of the People's Bank of China. He said that in 2008, when the global financial crisis broke out, the leaders of the Group of 20 strongly pushed forward the Doha Development Round and hoped to reach an agreement as soon as possible. However, after so many years, the progress of the Doha Round is still unsatisfactory, indicating that the mechanism is not efficient enough and needs reform.

Carlos Gutierrez, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, said he believes that the WTO's failure to keep pace with the times is also a cause of many of its problems. He said technology has evolved very fast and the WTO has not caught up with what has developed or what is coming.

Gutierrez noted that rebuilding confidence in multilateralism is crucial to the success of WTO reform. "We have an administration that does not like multilateralism," he said, referring to the Donald Trump administration's withdrawal from a number of international treaties. Entering multilateral treaties is an expression of sovereignty while the current administration in Washington believes the contrary, he explained.

Zhou also pointed out that the prerequisite for WTO reform is that member states should have a sincere desire. If most countries support multilateralism, WTO reform will be agreed upon and progress will be made, he said.

A shared future

"Through these brainstorming discussions, this conference has achieved some very important consensus, such as strengthening international cooperation, building an open world economy, persistently promoting structural reform, pursuing high-quality development and driving economic development through innovation, including in technology, process, institution and concept," Li Baodong said in his summary of the four-day conference.

While hailing the conference as a feast of ideas, he also called on people to act together in the interest of all. "Here in Boao, let's bring our voices together now, showing that we share the same future and will not wait until after the Earth 'wanders' as depicted in the sci-fi movie, The Wandering Earth."

He suggested putting aside conflicts and disputes and focusing on common development.

"After an intellectually intense day, you may want to enjoy the starry night of this small coastal town," Li Baodong told participants. "If viewed from the vast universe, the Earth, which is inhabited by over 7 billion people, is nothing but a tiny spot, making any conflict or dispute happening in this world simply insignificant."

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo

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