Chinese President to address opening ceremony of 2015 Boao Forum

BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 2015 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Thursday.

The Forum is slated from March 26 to 29 in the scenic town of Boao on south China's tropical island province of Hainan, while the opening ceremony will take place on March 28, said Spokesperson Hong Lei.

The annual conference, themed "Asia's New Future: Toward a Community of Common Destiny", includes more than 70 formal discussions on topics concerning macroeconomy, industry transformation, regional development,technological innovation, politics and security, people's livelihood, said Hong.

As the host country, China hopes the BFA annual meeting will promote the consolidarity and cooperation among Asian nations as well as the regional integration process, he said.

China also hopes the meeting will push for the joint construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, he added.

Presidents from Armenia, Austria, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Zambia will attend the annual meeting, said Hong.

The guests also include the Governor-General of Australia and prime ministers from Kazakhstan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Qatar and Sweden, as well as Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanasak Patimapragorn.

At the invitation of Xi, Presidents from Armenia, Austria, Indonesia,Sri Lanka, Uganda, Zambia, as well as the Governor-General of Australia, will pay state visits to China before or after the meeting, according to Hong.

At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov will pay a working visit to China before the meeting.

A non-governmental and non-profit international organization founded in 2001, the BFA works to promote regional economic integration and bring Asian countries closer to their development goals.