Economic globalization is a mainstream trend in today's world. The international community of nations has never been as closely integrated as it is now amid this golden age of economic interconnectivity.

However, faced with a prolonged hangover from the 2008 financial crisis, some developed nations have begun to blame globalization for the stagnation of their own economic development, and have responded with accordingly anti-globalization measures. Specifically, U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration are wielding the baton of trade protectionism in the form of tariffs on imports, which has cast a shadow over global economic growth still reeling from financial turmoil, and has subverted the vision for peace, cooperation and development.

The theme of this year's Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference, to be held from April 8 to 11 in south China's Hainan Province, is An Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity. At a time when anti-globalization sentiment is on the rise, this conference represents a rallying call from China and many other countries for openness, cooperation and progress.

The BFA is a high-end platform for dialogue among government leaders, industrial and business celebrities, and academic elites on important issues in Asia and around the world. Since its inauguration in 2001, the BFA has played an important role in promoting common development in Asia through further regional economic integration.

In a recent interview with Beijing Review, Zhou Wenzhong, Secretary General of the BFA, said wider and deeper openness and innovation in Asia are based on the foundation that interdependence within Asia has been unprecedentedly high, meaning that Asian economies must cooperate in order to realize their common goals.

As the major champion and driving force behind current economic globalization, China will continue working to build a community with a shared future for mankind, contributing Chinese wisdom to the shared development and common prosperity of the world.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up policy. More extensive and in-depth policies are to be rolled out, which are expected to bring China closer to other nations and augment the positive impact of the Chinese economy on the world.

China's development is proof that prosperity is derived from economic opening up, while trade protectionism can only result in isolation and withdrawal from the economic cooperation and development of the world.

At present, global economic growth remains sluggish and unstable, with the next technological revolution yet to fully arrive. Asia and the world at large need globalization as well as inclusiveness and balance more than ever before. Innovation and opening up are expected to form the basis of more extensive regional cooperation in Asia, to bring the world closer to the common prosperity of mankind.