Delegates at Boao Forum call for regional cooperation on free trade, tech development

Guests at the ongoing Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) 2026 Annual Conference are calling for deeper cooperation in the region to promote free trade and technological advancement.

The four-day BFA 2026 Annual Conference opened in the town of Boao, south China's Hainan Province on Tuesday.

Trade tensions have once again emerged as a key issue at this year's forum.

The delegates said rather than continuing to debate it, what matters more is solving the problems.

They called for more cooperation at panel discussions on tariff panel and strengthening cooperation.

They said the region should not fall behind in the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

"(Regarding) AI, China will be playing a driving force in promoting this digital transformation. If China loses, ASEAN will lose. If ASEAN loses, China will also not benefit from it," said Mohd Faiz Abdullah, executive chairman of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia.

In fact, progress has already been made. In October last year, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol was officially signed, with digital economy and AI as key cooperation areas.

In November 2025, APEC's first-ever top-level AI initiative was released.

Many believe these forms of cooperation are significant not only within Asia, but also for other economies.

"We believe also that there are opportunities for win-win partnerships in terms of business corporation between Canadian and Chinese businesses, not only here but also throughout the region. So, for us to understand and hear different experts sharing some of their perspectives, it's greatly enriching for us and very important as well so we can share some of those perspectives with our members," said David Perez-Des Rosiers, chief representative of Canada China Business Council, who is attending the forum for the first time.

AI development, climate change, financial stability and other topics will be covered throughout the event.

Zafar Uddin Mahmood, press advisor of the BFA Secretariat, told the media that free trade is an unstoppable trend.

"The world should go towards a free trade as it has been educated in the past and I'm sure it will soon be over," he said.

On the first day of the conference, the annual Asian Economic Outlook was released.

The report states that "regional cooperation is strongly underpinning Asia's economic development and integration."

This year's BFA, themed "Shaping a Shared Future: New Dynamics, New Opportunities, New Cooperation", features four core topics and more than 50 sub-forums, roundtables and dialog sessions.

Founded in 2001, the BFA has grown into a key platform for addressing Asian issues and strengthening cooperation both within the region and globally.

Delegates at Boao Forum call for regional cooperation on free trade, tech development

Delegates at Boao Forum call for regional cooperation on free trade, tech development

Esko Aho, former Finnish prime minister, has stressed the importance of mutual understanding and cooperation between Asia and Europe, values he said underpin the importance of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2026.

In an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Esko Aho, who was in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, for the BFA annual conference, emphasized the need for greater understanding between Asia and Europe as the two continents pursue closer economic and political ties.

"I think when looking at Europe and Asia, there are a lot of similarities. We are technology-oriented. We have a lot of common interests to keep world trade to be fair and open. But then we also have differences. It's very important that Asia understands European minds and vice versa. For us, it's very important to understand the Asian minds in order to do good business, or to be good in politics, you have to be able to recognize these differences," he said.

On the role that Finland and the Nordic region can play in building up that understanding, he emphasized their predisposition to trust.

"The level of trust is very high in all Nordic countries. That is something which is making a difference in Europe, but I can say that even globally, it's very difficult to identify any other part of the globe where a level of trust between people is so high as it is in the Nordic region," he said.

Founded in 2001, the BFA has grown into a key platform for addressing Asian issues and strengthening cooperation both within the region and globally.

Aho described the forum as a window for the world to better understand China and a platform for exchanging views on global trends, adding that such dialogue helps foster cooperation and the development of common rules.

"It has been a window to see what's going on in China. For foreigners, it's a great opportunity to understand internal processes in China. This is a place for dialogue, so that we foreigners, we feel that when we are coming here, we are able to tell from our perspective, how do we see the world's global trends and developments. And in that way, let's say, to learn, to work together, which is so important in the future, because I cannot see that we are able to solve the problems of the world without having collaboration. We need collaboration and common rules," he said.

Themed "Shaping a Shared Future: New Dynamics, New Opportunities, New Cooperation", this year's BFA annual conference is scheduled to run from Tuesday to Friday. It will focus on four core topics and feature more than 50 sub-forums, roundtables and dialogue sessions.

Boao Forum boosts mutual understanding between Europe, Asia: former Finnish PM