(April 11, 2018)

Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China I am delighted to meet you all. The Boao Forum for Asia was established 17 years ago, with both a focus on Asia and a global perspective. Since then, it has played an important role in creating consensus, promoting cooperation and building a community with a shared future in Asia. You, members of the current and incoming Board of Directors of the Boao Forum for Asia, are well-known statesmen and eminent public figures, and today you have all come here for this meeting. As the governing body of the BFA, the Board plays a key role in its development. Over the years, Chairman Yasuo Fukuda and Vice Chairman Zeng Peiyan, together with other board members, have made many valuable insights and put forward proposals on major issues concerning economic development in Asia and the world, and have made significant contributions to the development of the BFA. We can expect that under the leadership of Chairman Ban Ki-moon and Vice Chairman Zhou Xiaochuan, the new BFA Board of Directors will continue to boost BFA's perfor mance and do more to promote peace and development in Asia and the world in the new era.

The BFA is the first international conference organization headquartered in China. It was established after the Asian financial crisis of 1997, demonstrating a consensus for us Asian countries to jointly meet challenges and respond to the need for pursuing integrated economic development in our region. Boao was chosen as the site of the BFA by coincidence. Several internationally renowned former political leaders and entrepreneurs came to Boao and concluded this was a good place to do something. Simple as its beginning was, the BFA has come a long way.

I came here via Sanya when I attended the BFA last time in 2015. This time I flew directly from Beijing. Back then, I expressed hope that people would develop Boao fast and gain experience in this pursuit. People involved were all keen to speed up the development of Boao. But Boao is Boao; it should be similar to the small town of Davos and not become a new Shanghai. Boao was a small fishing village in the past, but it has now grown into a lovely small town with good infrastructure and rustic charm. It can be said that the development of Boao epitomizes what China has achieved in its reform and opening up initiative.

There were intensive discussions on the theme of“An Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity” at this year's annual conference, and you made incisive observations at the opening ceremony. A consensus that emerged from the conference is that as the world is undergoing a new round of major development, great change and profound readjustment, we should follow the trend of history, and promote change and innovation. It was agreed that facing weak global growth and challenges arising from trade protectionism, all parties should remain committed to openness and inclusiveness and pursue win-win cooperation. All conference participants expressed readiness to join hands to create a more promising future for both Asia and the world.

We are in an uncertain world, a world with both opportunities and challenges. We Chinese take a dialectical approach to things, and we believe that everything is like a coin with two sides. If there is good news, there will be bad news. As the trend towards global multi-polarity, economic globalization, infor mation based social development and cultural diversity unfolds, countries are becoming more interconnected and interdependent, and peaceful development is now a goal pursuit by all. On the other hand, the global recovery remains sluggish, and disparity between rich and poor is widening. Flashpoints continue to flare up in some regions; non-traditional security threats such as terrorism, cyber security, and climate change are spreading. Where is the world headed? How can we deliver a good and peaceful future for humanity? All countries are searching for answers to these questions. As an ancient Chinese sage said, “Even if a man cannot live to a hundred years, he should concern himself with what will happen in a thousand years.”1 It is because our ancestors had concerns and worries that mankind has advanced to what it is today. Just as we Chinese like to put it, as the preceding generation planted trees, the next generation can rest in their shade. If we do not think about future generations and what will happen in the next hundred or next thousand years, what will the future hold for humanity? The BFA is a premium platform which pools the best minds in both our region and the world for political and business dialogue, so it should make its due contribution to this endeavor.

We in China are also looking for answers. Experience of 40 years in reform and opening up has told us that China cannot develop in isolation from the rest of the world, and the world cannot develop without China. Since 1978, when the Communist Party of China made the decision to launch reform and opening up initiative at the Third Plenary Session of its 11th Central Committee, China has gradually integrated itself into the international community. In retrospect, this process looks natural, but it is a true miracle. Dr. Kissinger often says that when he made his secret visit to China, which led to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China, he knew that China would change, but he never expected such a massive transformation. At that time, even we ourselves did not expect China to achieve such remarkable development. It has taken just 40 years of reform and opening up for China to come this far. It will be exciting to see what China will be like in another 40 years as we continue on this path.

We human beings live in the same global village, and we share a common stake, a common future. Through reform and opening up, China has developed itself, creating a Chinese miracle. This is also a process in which China has pursued common development with other countries through cooperation. We have both drawn on the practices of other countries and contributed to world progress through our own development. In the world today, humanity can no longer afford to repeat past practices such as the law of the jungle, zero-sum game, and winner-takes-all. China will remain firm in pursuing peaceful development, an openingup strategy featuring mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, and a new type of international relations based on mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation. China will promote coordination and cooperation with other major countries, grow friendly relations with its neighbors, get more actively involved in global governance, and work hand in hand with other countries to meet challenges more effectively.

The interests to be pursued should be the interests of all. This is not just empty rhetoric, but a value that we hold dear. China views its own future as being closely tied with that of the people of all other countries; and we will both seek happiness for the Chinese people and strive to advance the cause of human progress. An ancient Chinese observed that in the world of great harmony, mankind should coexist peacefully and that one should pursue not only his own wellbeing but also the common good. This is a vision underpinning China's several-thousand-year-old civilization. Happiness is not something reserved to one nation only, but should be shared by all countries. As a line in a Chinese poem reads, “Let us in the world experience the same degree of warmth or coldness as one.”2 All of us should enjoy a similar level of comfort, without too much difference in temperature. There is now a huge gap between the North and the South. We should not forget the UN goals for sustainable development and poverty reduction. Developed countries, in particular, should not forget their international responsibilities.

Keeping global development in mind, China will further expand cooperation and work to build a community with a shared future for mankind and a clean and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness and inclusiveness. In the absence of inclusiveness, narrow-mindedness, jealousy, suspicion and selfishness will plunge the world into chaos and tension. We should say no to the practice of winner-taking-all, or zero-sum game. If one country develops itself well, other countries should be able to do the same. If there is competition, it should be benign competition and sound interaction. When problems arise, they should be solved through consultation.

China will continue to pursue the Belt and Road Initiative to deliver shared benefits through consultation and cooperation on the basis of integrating resources and factors for economic development. The BRI is not a Chinese conspiracy, nor is it the Marshall Plan implemented after World War II. In proposing this Initiative for international cooperation, I have drawn inspiration from the past. The countries along the ancient Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road were engaged in extensive interactions and promoted harmony and win-win outcomes, and we hope to revive past glory. The countries along the Belt and Road wish to speed up development and they look to China for assistance in infrastructure building and funding. When infrastructure is in place, these countries will be better able to engage in business cooperation with China. Last year, representatives from more than 100 countries attended the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in China; more than 80 countries and international organizations have signed related cooperation agreements with China. Now the Belt and Road Initiative has become global in nature, and Latin American and African countries all want to participate in it. We will strive to achieve policy, infrastructure, trade, financial and people-to-people connectivity to build a new platform for international cooperation. This will create a new engine driving common development and it will benefit more countries and people.

As its host country, China will provide broader space for the growth of the BFA. We hope that the forum will continue to closely follow and support China's development, and play its due role in promoting prosperity of both China and the world. First, the forum should focus on Asia and meet its needs. It should forge consensus in Asia and make the voice of Asia heard. It should develop an Asian vision and turn more Asian propositions into international consensus and actions and thus raise Asia's global profile.

Second, it should develop a global perspective and be open and inclusive. The forum can draw inspiration for growth in the global community by bringing together all that is best in both Eastern and Western civilizations. It should expand its reach to build a global network of partnerships and make more friends.

Third, it should develop programs with distinctive features. The forum should engage leading public figures in free exchange of views to pool their vision, so as to provide policy guidance for pursuing government-business cooperation in our countries. The forum needs to make more Boao propositions to address key issues of concern to the international community.

Notes:

1 A Collection of Yuefu Poems.

2 Mao Zedong:“Kunlun Mountains-To the Tune‘Nian Nu Jiao'”,Collected Poems of Mao Zedong, Chin. ed., Central Party Literature Publishing House, Beijing, 2003, p.52.