Outlook for Asia’s economic integration detailed in reports at Boao Forum

World Today

Outlook for Asia's economic integration detailed in reports at Boao Forum

China steps into the global spotlight this week as it hosts the Boao Forum for Asia. The annual gathering is under way in the southern-island province of Hainan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping takes center-stage Tuesday, as he delivers the keynote address. He’s expected to tout new measures planned to mark the 40th anniversary of China’s landmark economic reforms.

Ahead of Xi’s speech, three reports were released outlining Asia’s economy.

CGTN’s Zou Yun reports.

Despite a strong performance in terms of trade last year across Asia, the outlook for future economic integration still needs further development and cautious optimism…

The latest reports released at the Boao Forum point out that Asia’s most important driver of economic integration, which is globalization, now faces a range of unprecedented challenges…

And in order to address these obstacles, the reports have called for joint efforts to speed up talks on “RCEP” – the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Overall competitiveness throughout Asia grew in 2017. Singapore topped the list, while China was the ninth highest among economies surveyed.

But it’s not only economic integration that has provided benefit to Asian economies.

The China-initiated “Belt & Road Initiative” has contributed to infrastructure development, trade cooperation, and other sectors across the continent.

Finally, economic growth of the world’s 11 largest economies including Brazil, China and India, have witnessed accelerated growth across the board.

They’re also benefiting from a drastic rise in external demand, while witnessing stable domestic demand and consumption.


Einar Tangen on Chinese President Xi’s upcoming speech for Boao Forum

What should we expect for the Chinese president’s speech at the Boao Forum? To delve into that, CGTN’s Susan Roberts spoke with Einar Tangen, our current affairs commentator in Beijing.