Boao Forum gathers overseas Chinese entrepreneurs, experts to explore further development

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) 2025 Annual Conference held its first roundtable conference on Wednesday, with representatives of overseas Chinese businesses and think tanks gathering to explore the unique role of overseas Chinese communities in promoting economic globalization, Chinese modernization, people-to-people exchange, etc.

As a high-level platform for overseas Chinese business leaders and think tank experts to exchange ideas, the Overseas Chinese Business Leaders and Think Tank Roundtable brought together 23 representatives of Chinese entrepreneurs, private business owners, and think tank experts from 15 countries and regions.

During the discussions, participants emphasized that exchange and cooperation are essential to future development, noting that Chinese entrepreneurs should benchmark against global industry leaders, work to strengthen technological innovation, and continuously enhance their core competitiveness. They should actively engage in international exchanges, particularly by strengthening collaboration with China's private enterprises, to explore broader global markets, according to the participants.

Moreover, the participants highlighted the distinct advantages of overseas Chinese entrepreneurs in playing their roles on the journey of Chinese modernization, and urged them to seize the emerging development opportunities brought about by China's ongoing efforts to foster new quality productive forces, in order to realize leapfrog development of their businesses.

From a global perspective, overseas Chinese businesses need to identify where they can play a role in participating in joint construction of Belt and Road, leverage their business networks and personal connections to serve as bridges between Chinese and foreign enterprises in potential business cooperation, work to step up the landing and execution of projects, bring into play their advantages in capital, and voluntarily get involved in joint construction of the Belt and Road, to achieve all-win development, the participants said at the roundtable.

The Boao Forum for Asia 2025 Annual Conference opened on Tuesday in Boao Town of south China's Hainan Province. Nearly 2,000 representatives from over 60 countries and regions are attending the four-day event. The forum is seen as Asia's answer to Davos. This year's theme is "Asia in the Changing World: Towards a Shared Future". The theme reflects efforts in the region to boost multilateralism, promote openness and development, and jointly respond to global challenges.

Boao Forum gathers overseas Chinese entrepreneurs, experts to explore further development

As the countdown to the 2026 FIFA World Cup continues, global anticipation is soaring ahead of the biggest ever edition of the showpiece soccer event, with orders for related goods surging in Yiwu, an eastern Chinese city known as "the world's supermarket".

The expanded 2026 tournament will feature a record number of 48 teams and see the competition being hosted across three countries for the first time, with matches scheduled to take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.

In the sports goods section of the Yiwu International Trade Market in Zhejiang Province, buyers from all around the world can be seen enthusiastically patrolling the huge marketplace with lengthy order lists, searching for the products they need.

With replica jerseys, memorabilia items, and top-quality sports gear all on offer, vendors are keen to tap into the fan fever ahead of the international footballing extravaganza.

For many, the World Cup is a once-every-four-years highlight, and with this year's tournament set to be bigger than ever, business opportunities are in abundance.

"Since the tournament is being hosted by three countries, the volume may be even higher than before. Orders could increase by 50 percent compared to previous World Cups. Today, we are also preparing an order to be shipped by air," said Chen Jian, a vendor at the Yiwu International Trade Market.

As sales climb, production lines are also running at full speed. In a local football factory, machines roar and workers skillfully glue and stitch, turning out brand-new footballs on the assembly line. As the 2026 World Cup fast approaches, the company's football-related sales have skyrocketed, with daily output reaching 4,000 balls and the firm seeing almost no inventory backlog.

According to customs data, exports of sports goods and equipment from Yiwu reached 2.34 billion yuan (about 340 million U.S. dollars) in January and February 2026, up 38.5 percent year on year.

The Yiwu International Trade Market has become an important center for foreign trade, housing nearly 80,000 booths offering over two million types of commodities, with the market maintaining trade ties with 233 countries and regions worldwide.

World Cup fever drives export boom from China's Yiwu as orders surge