Boao Forum helps build consensus on global development, observers say

BEIJING - The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2022 which ended on Friday was closely watched by business runners and scholars worldwide as the global economy desperately needs impetus and certainty.

Many of them stressed the importance of the Boao discussions on Asia and world economy, as well as global challenges, saying the forum helps build consensus and draw a blueprint for global governance on sustainable development.

Andrew Forrest, chairman of Australia's iron ore giant Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), said that Boao provides a vital platform to further strengthen Australia's business and political relationships with Asia, and is also an important element of FMG's engagement with China and the whole Asia.

"FMG's success and that of the Australian economy has been built on the great powerhouse that is Asia. Now, more than ever, these strong trade relationships provide economic stability as we work together to build new opportunities for the future," Forrest said.

Sudheendra Kulkarni, former chairman of Mumbai-based think-tank Observer Research Foundation, said that seeking common ground and common solutions to global problems is "the only way to go forward."

"Unfortunately, Western countries are not grasping the importance of global cooperation, using some pretext or the other ... trying to build hurdles on the path to globalization and global cooperation," he said, adding that to promote growth, the world must accelerate globalization instead of pushing it back.

"Protectionism and unilateralism are negative forces which undermine small economies, hinder their development, and deepen poverty," said Joseph Matthews, senior professor at the BELTEI International University in Phnom Penh.

Matthews added that China's myriad efforts to promote economic development through programs such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are essential to boost the global economy and free trade.

Cavince Adhere, a Kenya-based international relations scholar, said that cooperation under the BRI has become a road of cooperation, health, recovery and growth for countries along the routes.

In Kenya, the BRI projects have provided local people with jobs despite the economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Adhere added.