"The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) is more and more internationalized, like the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland," said Wei Jiafu, Chairman of the Board of Chinese shipping giant COSCO Group during the BFA Annual Conference 2012.
This year's BFA annual conference was held from April 1 to 3 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. More than 2,000 delegates and media personnel attended the forum, including top government officials from all over the world, leaders of international organizations, as well as renowned economists and entrepreneurs.
According to Wei, the fact that many delegates from European countries and the United States participated in the conference is a signal that the global influence of the BFA is on the rise.
"Seen from the structure of the BFA leadership, there are former political leaders of both Asian countries and Western countries in the BFA Board of Directors, such as former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson," said Wei. "The trend of internationalization is becoming more and more apparent."
Referring to the relationship between Asia and the world, Wei said, Asia is presently the area of the world growing most rapidly. The world is focusing its attention there. However, there is still a big gap between the area with developed countries in productivity and technology. More capital and human resources from developed countries are expected to move into Asia.
Asian countriesshould also be open and generous and willing to share their development achievements with the whole world, Wei said. A consensus should be reached among Asian countries that Asia is a member of the world community, so that it should involve itself in the development of the world economy, he said.
With the rapid growth of Asian economies and the increasing influence of the BFA, Western countries might feel a sense of loss if excluded, Wei added.