A new journey from Boao, a new future for Asia

Photo taken on March 24, 2026 shows the exterior view of the venue of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2026 in Boao Town, Qionghai City, south China's Hainan Province. (Wang Xinyuan/Guangming Picture)

The 2026 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference is being held in Boao, Hainan from March 24 to 27. This year's annual conference, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the forum’s establishment, is themed "Shaping a Shared Future: New Dynamics, New Opportunities, New Cooperation". Building on a new foundation, it embarks on a new journey toward the future and carries profound significance in a time of accelerating changes.

Looking back, the Forum has long been a seed-sower of Asian consensus and a catalyst for regional cooperation. Over the past 25 years, it has steadily expanded its focus from the economy to politics, security and humanity, witnessing and advancing Asia’s rise and integration. During this process, the 2015 annual conference was undoubtedly a remarkable milestone. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech entitled "Asia’s New Future: Towards a Community with a Shared Future", and systematically expounded the profound concept of building a community with a shared future for Asia. Xi pointed out that “Asia belongs to the world” and emphasized "Asia has to follow the global trend and seek both progress and development in tandem with the world". He also put forward the propositions of upholding mutual respect and equality among all countries; adhering to win-win cooperation and common development; maintaining common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concepts; upholding inclusiveness, mutual exchange and learning between different civilizations. These important remarks have charted the way and set the direction for regional cooperation. From principle to practice, solid progress has been made in building a community with a shared future for Asia. The truth---when the world prospers, Asia prospers; when Asia prospers, the world prospers---is now being borne out by the fruitful outcomes of regional cooperation.

On the economic integration front, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has come into effect. The world’s largest free trade zone by population and trade scale has set sail, injecting strong impetus into regional economic integration. China and ASEAN have come into comprehensive strategic partnership. As the negotiations on China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0(CAFTA 3.0) have substantially concluded, their respective status as each other’s largest trading partners becomes increasingly consolidated. On the connectivity front, the China-Laos Railway has transformed Laos from a "land-locked country" into a "land-linked country", the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway has become the first high-speed railway in Southeast Asia, and the China-Europe Railway Express and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor have complemented each other in the heartland of Asia. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has grown steadily from scratch. With its membership continuing to grow, the bank has approved more than 300 projects, providing solid financial support for regional infrastructure development. On the cultural exchanges front, the initiative of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations (CDAC) has received positive responses, a variety of cultural communication years and tourism collaboration years have been held vigorously. These achievements greatly demonstrated Asian countries’ commitment to openness and cooperation, and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

The reason the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) remains vibrant and dynamic throughout the times lies in its closeness to the pulse of the time and swift response to Asia’s common concerns. Currently, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, geopolitical rivalry is intensifying, global industrial and supply chains are under pressure for restructuring. Facing great changes, should Asia choose seclusion or global connectivity? Should it engage in zero-sum competition or win-win cooperation? The answer is self-evident. This year’s annual conference is themed "Shaping a Shared Future", conveying firm confidence in upholding multilateralism and deepening regional cooperation. From this year’s Forum agenda, we can see that whether it involves grasping the overarching macro trends, deepening regional cooperation on matters including APEC and RCEP, or fostering new growth drivers such as "AI+" and green transition, the core logic is to seek consensus amid divisions and create opportunities amid changes. These fully manifest that in the face of a complex external environment, Asian countries value cooperation platforms more than ever and are more in need of dialogue and consultation to enhance trust.

As a member of the Asian family and the host of the Boao Forum for Asia, China has been serving as a supporter and pioneer for building a community with a shared future for mankind. From building a community with a shared future for Asia, to advocating the Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative, and Global Governance Initiative in recent years, China has provided the fast-transforming and unstable world with precious public goods. In practice, China has promoted high-quality “Belt and Road” cooperation to make it far-reaching and substantive, and upheld the global governance philosophy of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. It has also closely aligned its development strategies with other nations, continuously promoted high-standard opening-up as well as profoundly accelerated the pace of institutional opening-up. This year marks the beginning year of China’s “15th Five Year Plan”, which is also the first full year after the implementation of the Hainan Free Trade Port’s customs closure and operation. This year’s annual conference has specially arranged a series of events, including "Forum on the Development of Global Free Trade Ports" and "Press Conference Marking the 100th Day of Hainan Free Trade Port's Customs Closure", which is a vivid example of China sharing its development opportunities with the world with open arms.

In its 25-year march through thick and thin, Boao has witnessed Asia’s rise and unity. Standing at a new historical starting point, every Asian nation should cherish the environment of peaceful development, carry forward the Asian values of peace, cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, uphold mutual respect, seek consensus through consultation, and take every country’s concerns into consideration. Additionally, they should view this annual conference as an opportunity, take further steps to build consensus and foster mutual trust, advance the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, move toward a community with a shared future for Asia, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. This is not only Asia’s aspiration, but also the world’s expectation.

Embarking on a new journey from Boao, we should let the stream of collaboration nourish our common homeland. With all countries working together to uphold the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, Asia’s future will surely be bright and promising, bringing greater stability and positive energy into the turbulent world.

Contributed by Zhao Shenhong, Researcher of Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, National Academy of Governance

Translated by Zhang Xijin