THE ANNUAL BOAO FORUM FOR ASIA WAS HELD ON MARCH 26TH IN BOAO, HAINAN, BY NI HAO AND WANG YI, SPECIAL REPORTERS FROM THE GLOBAL TIMES. ACCORDING TO DATA DISCLOSED BY LI BAODONG, SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE BOAO FORUM FOR ASIA COUNCIL, AT A PRESS CONFERENCE ON THE 26TH, ASIA HAS BECOME THE FASTEST-GROWING REGION IN THE WORLD ECONOMY, CONTRIBUTING 60% TO GLOBAL GDP GROWTH IN THE PAST DECADE. LI BAODONG SAID, "THIS IS NOT A SMALL CONTRIBUTION AND DESERVES THE PRIDE OF PEOPLE IN ASIA." BLOOMBERG NEWS AGENCY SAID ON THE 26TH THAT THIS BOAO FORUM FOR ASIA WILL SHOW CHINA'S REFORM STEPS, ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE SINO US TRADE NEGOTIATIONS AT A CRITICAL MOMENT.THE THEME OF THE 2019 BOAO FORUM FOR ASIA ANNUAL CONFERENCE IS "COMMON DESTINY, COMMON ACTION, AND COMMON DEVELOPMENT". LI BAODONG SAID AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE HELD ON THE MORNING OF THE 26TH THAT MORE THAN 2000 REPRESENTATIVES FROM 60 COUNTRIES AND REGIONS PARTICIPATED IN THIS YEAR'S ANNUAL MEETING. LI KEQIANG, PREMIER OF THE STATE COUNCIL OF CHINA, WILL ATTEND THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE FORUM ON THE 28TH TOGETHER WITH THE LEADERS OF LAOS PRIME MINISTER THONGLOUN SISOULI, LUXEMBOURG PRIME MINISTER BERTEL,  SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE PRIME MINISTER JESUS AND SOUTH KOREA PRIME MINISTER LI LUOYUAN.ON THE MORNING OF THE 26TH, THE PRESS CONFERENCE RELEASED THE FOUR ACADEMIC REPORTS OF THE BOAO FORUM FOR ASIA: "2019 ANNUAL REPORT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMERGING ECONOMIES", "2019 ANNUAL REPORT ON THE PROCESS OF ASIAN ECONOMIC INTEGRATION", "2019 ANNUAL REPORT ON ASIAN COMPETITIVENESS", AND FOR THE FIRST TIME, RELEASED THE "REPORT ON ASIAN FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT". THE REPORT POINTS OUT THAT ALTHOUGH THE CHINESE ECONOMY HAS BEEN GREATLY IMPACTED BY THE TRADE FRICTION BETWEEN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES, SHOWING A TREND OF INITIALLY HIGH AND THEN LOW, WITH STABLE BUT GRADUALLY SLOWING GROWTH, IT STILL DEMONSTRATES STRONG RESILIENCE AND FULLY PLAYS THE ROLE OF A PILLAR OF THE ASIAN ECONOMY.I BELIEVE THAT A SLIGHT SLOWDOWN IN CHINA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH IS A TREND, BUT IT IS ALSO THE RIGHT TREND. EVEN IF THE GROWTH SLOWS DOWN, CHINA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH RATE IS STILL TWICE THAT OF THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES, "KENT KOLD, DIRECTOR OF THE REISCHAUER EAST ASIA RESEARCH CENTER AT JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, SAID AT THE BOAO FORUM FOR ASIA ON THE 26TH. CHINA'S DEVELOPMENT IN TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE AND FINANCE HAS GIVEN NEW IMPETUS TO ECONOMIC GROWTH. KOLD SAID ON THE 26TH THAT HE REMEMBERED THE MAJOR MEASURES PROPOSED BY PRESIDENT XI LAST YEAR, "CHINA HAS TAKEN IMPORTANT STEPS TO OPEN UP AND STRENGTHEN THE PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. DURING THE RECENT TWO SESSIONS IN CHINA, THE FOREIGN INVESTMENT LAW WAS ALSO PASSED, WHICH I THINK ARE VERY CRUCIAL." BLOOMBERG REPORTED ON THE 26TH THAT CHINA'S PROMISE TO RELAX FINANCIAL SECTOR REGULATION LAST YEAR IS CURRENTLY BEING IMPLEMENTED, AND SIMILAR MEASURES ARE ALSO HAPPENING IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY. PREMIER LI KEQIANG WILL ATTEND THE BOAO FORUM FOR ASIA AND MAY FURTHER MENTION CHINA'S OPENING-UP MEASURES OR POLICIES TO BOOST EXTERNAL CONFIDENCE IN CHINA'S OPENNESS.AMONG THE MORE THAN 50 DISCUSSIONS IN THE FIVE MAJOR SECTIONS OF THE FORUM, THE MOST POPULAR TOPIC IS STILL THE CHINESE ECONOMY. ON THE AFTERNOON OF THE 26TH, ITALIAN DEPUTY MINISTER OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT JERAKI SAID AT THE SUB FORUM ON THE THEME OF "70 AND 40 YEARS OF MEMORY, ENTERING A NEW ERA OF CHINA" THAT ITALY, AS A MEMBER OF THE GROUP OF SEVEN (G7) COUNTRIES, TOOK THE LEAD IN JOINING CHINA'S "THE BELT AND ROAD" INITIATIVE TO MAKE UP FOR THE TIME LOST. IN THE PAST 10 TO 15 YEARS, COMPARED TO EUROPEAN COUNTRIES SUCH AS GERMANY, BRITAIN, AND FRANCE, THE COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ITALY AND CHINA HAS FALLEN BEHIND. JERAKI SAID THAT EUROPEAN COUNTRIES ARE WILLING TO JOIN THE "THE BELT AND ROAD" INITIATIVE. ITALY HAS SET AN EXAMPLE IN THIS REGARD, WHICH IS A REFLECTION OF ITALY'S RENEWED LEADERSHIP AS A MEMBER OF THE G7 AND A MAJOR MEMBER OF THE EU. I BELIEVE THAT UNDER THE DEMONSTRATION OF ITALY, MORE EU COUNTRIES WILL SIGN SIMILAR AGREEMENTS WITH CHINA.