Boao Forum expected to be largest onsite intl forum since outbreak

The Boao Forum for Asia International Convention Center is seen in Boao, South China's Hainan province, on March 24, 2019. [Photo/IC]

China will hold the largest onsite international forum in mid-April since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, as the virus has been controlled domestically. The event is expected to call on cooperation of Asian countries and reshape global growth in the post-pandemic era.   

The 2021 Annual Conference of the Boao Forum for Asia is to be held from April 18 to 21 in Boao, a coastal county in South China's Hainan province. The theme of the annual conference is set as " A World in Change: Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Cooperation", its organizers said at a media conference on Tuesday.

This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the forum. As the organizers expect, it will be the world's first large-scale, onsite international conference with about 2,000 participants, thanks to the effective prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic by the host country.

According to Li Baodong, the forum's secretary-general, two Chinese state leaders will attend the conference and one will address the opening ceremony online. The other leader will participate onsite in a series of events, including a symposium for entrepreneurs from China and the United States.

Many other state leaders of foreign countries, former politicians and heads of international organizations, as well as a large number of guests from politics, business and academia, can join the conference online or onsite.