Boao 20 years: from fishing village to town of diplomacy

BOAO, Hainan, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA)'s annual conference will be held from April 18 to 21 in south China's island province of Hainan.

This year's annual conference will be mainly held offline with the addition of online features as part of ongoing COVID-19 prevention and control efforts, with over 2,600 people expected to participate in person, making it the world's first large-scale international conference to be held this year in predominantly offline forms.

Founded in 2001 when Asian countries sought economic integration in the aftermath of the 1998 financial crisis, the forum hosts its 20th edition this year. The annual conference in 2020 was canceled due to the pandemic.

This year's annual conference is themed "A World in Change: Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Cooperation."