Boao Forum for Asia unveils agenda for 2024 conference

This photo taken on March 22, 2024 shows the logo of Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) at BFA International Conference Center in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2024 will be held from March 26 to 29 in Boao, focusing on how the international community can work together to deal with common challenges and shoulder their responsibilities. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) has unveiled the agenda for its 2024 annual conference scheduled to be held from March 26 to 29 in the resort town of Boao, southern China's Hainan Province.

This year's conference includes a BFA Annual Conference 2024 press conference scheduled on March 26, a raft of panel discussions, and other invitation-only events such as roundtables and CEO dialogues. The opening plenary is scheduled for March 28, according to the agenda posted on the BFA's website.

The panel discussions, in particular, will cover a broad range of topics including those focusing on Asia, such as investing in Asia, deepening financial cooperation in Asia, and efforts to build Asia into a growth center.

The Asia-focused topics will deliberate on boosting investor confidence, improving the investment ecosystem and enhancing foreign investment attractiveness, advancing financial cooperation in Asia to boost the real economy, and strengthening industrial and supply chain cooperation among Asian nations.

The agenda also arranges discussions on topics such as AI, the future of new energy vehicles, and high-quality Belt and Road Cooperation, with speakers expected to discuss when and where the breakthrough moment of technological revolution is, the changes brought by AIGC to the economy and lifestyle of humanity, the risks it brings, and global AI governance.

A panel discussion on the rise of new energy vehicles (NEVs) is included on the agenda during this year's conference held in the island province of Hainan. The province announced a plan in 2022 to ban the sales of all fuel vehicles by 2030, making it the first province in China to declare such a plan in its strive for a clean energy transition.

During a panel discussion on the future of NEVs, speakers are expected to share thoughts and ideas on how the energy revolution and automotive revolution can better promote each other, and how the fierce international competition will shape the industry's future.

Regarding the fruitful results of the Belt and Road Initiative in deepening connectivity of infrastructure, technology, standards, rules and operations over the past decade, speakers will deliberate on how to jointly build the "Digital Silk Road" in efforts to strengthen cooperation in areas such as technological innovation and digital economy.

According to the agenda, the panel discussions will also dwell upon other larger topics such as confronting fragmentation in global trade, the global geopolitical outlook, the global economic outlook, the Global Security Initiative in addressing security challenges and promoting world peace, and overcoming political hurdles to address the climate crisis and accelerating global climate action.

With a founding purpose to promote economic integration in Asia, the mission of the BFA, is to pool positive energy for the development of Asia and the world.

The BFA announced earlier the theme of this year's conference as "Asia and the World: Common Challenges, Shared Responsibilities." BFA Secretary General Li Baodong said that pursuing peace, seeking development, and promoting cooperation remain the dominant and shared aspirations of the international community.

Noting that nations should collectively address various global challenges and jointly shoulder the responsibility for promoting peace and prosperity, Li said that BFA hopes to call on nations to bolster unity and cooperation, rebuild confidence and trust, and collectively foster peace and development.