Beijing (VNA) – The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA)commenced in the Chinese southern province of Hainan on April 8 with a pressconference and the release of three reports, including one forecasting thatAsia will lead the world economy with its strong economic growth.

At the press conference, BFA Secretary General Zhou Wenzhongunveiled the BFA reports on the progress of Asian economic integration, thedevelopment of emerging economies and the competitiveness of Asian economies.

The BFA Asian Competitiveness Annual Report 2018 wrote thatwith the continuing integration of Asian economies, economic competitiveness wentthrough steady development in 2017.

The report noted the Asian economy remains one of the majorengines driving world economic development, adding that enhanced externalgrowth, transformed internal impetus and deepened cooperation among markets propelledAsia's development.

The Asian economic integration process hasaccelerated, and economies joint implementation of international market incrementstrategy will continue to bring dividends. The potential of such marketincrements in creating wealth will be used to ensure Asian economies willdevelop well, the report said.

More and more Asian economies are transformingtheir development patterns through innovation, hoping to bring more highvalue-added benefits via advanced science and technology, according to thereport. 

Meanwhile, the Asian security environment willalso improve and non-traditional security threats further decrease, it said,adding that Asian countries will be better equipped to promote their internalgovernance and improve the overall security situation in Asia.

In the BFA Progress of Asian EconomicIntegration Annual Report, Asia's demand for investment is estimated to surpass8 trillion USD by 2020. Therefore, economies need to work together to create aworld-class integrated financial market through reform.

The annual BFA is held in Boao city of China’sHainan province. It was established by 25 Asian countries, including China,Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Vietnam, Singapore and Australia, in 2001to create a high-level venue for dialogues between leaders from governments,enterprises, experts and academia to discuss economic, social and environmentalissues, thereby promoting economic cooperation and supporting the sustainabledevelopment of Asia’s economy.

This year’s BFA is themed “An Open andInnovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity”. It will be divided intofour segments, namely Globalisation & the Belt and Road Initiative, An OpenAsia, Innovation and Reform.

General Secretary of the Communist Party ofChina Central Committee and President Xi Jinping is set to chair and deliver aspeech at the forum’s opening ceremony on April 10.-VNA