Boao Forum for Asia
A nonprofit international organization that convenes political, business, academic, and civil-society leaders to discuss Asian and global economic and development issues.
Last updated October 9, 2026
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Overview
The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) is a nonprofit international organization established to promote dialogue, cooperation, and economic integration in Asia. It was initiated by former Philippine president Fidel V. Ramos, former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke, and former Japanese prime minister Morihiro Hosokawa in 1998, and was formally inaugurated in February 2001 with support from China and participating Asian and Australasian states. The organization takes its name from Boao, a town on China's southern island province of Hainan, which has served as the permanent venue for its flagship annual conference since 2002. The forum was conceived as an Asia-centered platform comparable in convening function to the World Economic Forum, although its institutional identity is distinct. It does not operate as a commercial company, political party, intergovernmental treaty organization, or investment fund. Instead, it brings together heads of government, ministers, diplomats, corporate leaders, economists, scholars, media figures, and representatives of international institutions. Its discussions generally address economic growth, regional integration, trade, globalization, financial stability, energy and resource security, technological change, sustainability, public health, social development, and international cooperation. The BFA's membership and participation have expanded beyond its original Asian founders. The founding initiative involved 26 Asian and Australasian states, while the number of initiating countries had increased to 28 by 2006. Although the forum is rooted in Asia, its annual meetings regularly attract participants from Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and international organizations. This broad participation allows the forum to present Asian perspectives on global questions while also positioning Asia within wider debates about development and governance. The annual conference is the organization's principal public offering. It typically combines opening ceremonies, keynote speeches, plenary sessions, closed-door meetings, roundtables, business dialogues, and specialist discussions. The forum also sponsors thematic meetings outside the annual conference. Earlier agendas included China's accession to the World Trade Organization, the economic consequences of the 1990s Asian financial crisis, sustainable growth, energy security, and China's international economic role. Later programs examined globalization, free trade, innovation, digital transformation, health security, climate and environmental policy, and regional and global security. The BFA has also become a prominent setting for major Chinese policy speeches. Chinese national leaders and senior officials have used the annual meeting to articulate positions on opening up, international economic cooperation, development, debt policy, and security. This has contributed to the forum's visibility and influence, while also leading observers to characterize it as a China-supported platform for international engagement. The organization describes itself as non-governmental and nonprofit, but its close relationship with China's political and diplomatic establishment is an important part of its public profile. The 2020 annual meeting was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 meeting was held with substantial virtual participation, and the 2023 conference marked a full return to an in-person format after the pandemic disruption. The 2022 meeting was notable for the announcement of China's Global Security Initiative by Xi Jinping. By 2025, the forum continued to use Boao as its principal venue and remained focused on Asia's role in a changing international environment. Its enduring function is to provide a high-level venue for exchanging views and building networks rather than to issue binding regional policy or conduct commercial operations.
History
The Boao Forum for Asia emerged from an effort to create a permanent, Asia-based venue for regional dialogue at a time when Asian economies were becoming more interconnected and the consequences of the 1990s Asian financial crisis were still influential. Former Philippine president Fidel V. Ramos, former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke, and former Japanese prime minister Morihiro Hosokawa initiated the concept in 1998. China subsequently played a major role in establishing the institution, and the forum was formally inaugurated in February 2001 by a group of Asian and Australasian states. The initiative is commonly described as having been founded by 26 states, with the number of participating initiating countries later reaching 28. The organization held its first annual meeting in Boao, Hainan, on 12–13 April 2002. Boao became the forum's permanent conference location, while the Secretariat operates from Beijing. The choice of venue gave the organization a distinctive geographic identity: it is an international platform with a fixed home in a comparatively small coastal town rather than a conventional capital-city diplomatic institution. The forum's name consequently became associated both with the town and with China's effort to provide an Asia-centered setting for international policy and business discussions. From its earliest meetings, the BFA concentrated on economic integration, trade, regional cooperation, development, and the relationship between Asian economies and the wider world. Its agenda included China's accession to the World Trade Organization, responses to the Asian financial crisis, sustainable development, energy security, and the implications of China's economic rise. In 2004, discussions included the idea of China's peaceful rise, reflecting the forum's role as a venue for examining China's international position and its implications for regional order. The annual conference developed into a large, high-level gathering involving government leaders, business executives, academics, financial institutions, journalists, and representatives of international organizations. Sessions generally combine public speeches with panel discussions and private meetings. The organization has also held specialist events outside the main annual meeting, including a 2011 conference in Perth on energy, resources, and sustainable development. These events extend the forum's role beyond a single yearly conference and connect Asian economic questions with resource, infrastructure, and environmental issues. The BFA has often been used as a setting for major policy messages by Chinese leaders. The 2008 conference was notable for a meeting between Taiwan's vice president-elect Vincent Siew and Hu Jintao. In 2013, Xi Jinping delivered a keynote address, while the 2014 event included the appointment of Indian industrialist Ratan Tata to the forum board. The 2017 and 2018 conferences addressed globalization, free trade, innovation, and market opening. At the 2018 meeting, Xi discussed measures to expand China's opening of its economy, including lower tariffs on imported automobiles, against the background of growing trade friction with the United States. The forum's activity was interrupted in 2020 when the annual conference was cancelled because of COVID-19. The 2021 meeting used video participation and addressed issues including debt-service suspension for poorer countries and the balance between creditor stability and debtor relief. In 2022, Xi announced China's Global Security Initiative at the forum, setting out principles concerning common security, sovereignty, the UN Charter, dialogue, and attention to the security concerns of all countries. This broadened the visibility of the BFA beyond economics into international security discourse. The 2023 annual meeting represented a full return to an offline format after the pandemic period. International participation included senior leaders from Singapore, Malaysia, Spain, and other countries, while Chinese premier Li Qiang addressed the opening. Zhao Leji delivered the opening keynote at the 2024 conference. The 2025 meeting continued the annual schedule under the theme “Shaping Asia's Future in a Changing World.” The BFA remains a nonprofit, non-governmental forum rather than a treaty-based organization. Its influence comes from agenda-setting, access, networking, and the prominence of its participants, while its close association with China's international outreach remains an important feature of how the institution is understood.
- 2025
Conference addressed Asia's changing environment
[1]The annual conference was held under the theme “Shaping Asia's Future in a Changing World.”
- 2023
Full offline conference resumed
[1]The annual meeting returned completely to an in-person format after pandemic-era restrictions.
- 2022
Global Security Initiative announced
[1]Xi Jinping announced China's Global Security Initiative during the annual forum.
- 2020
Annual meeting cancelled
[1]The annual conference was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2011
Energy, Resources and Sustainable Development Conference
[1]The forum held a specialist conference in Perth on energy security, resource development, investment, trade, and sustainability.
- 2006
Founding-country participation expanded
[1]The number of initiating participating countries had increased to 28.
- 2002
First annual meeting
[1]The inaugural annual conference was held in Boao, Hainan, establishing the town as the permanent venue.
- 2001
Formal inauguration
[1]The Boao Forum for Asia was formally inaugurated in February with support from China and Asian and Australasian founding states.
- 1998
Forum concept initiated
[1]Fidel V. Ramos, Bob Hawke, and Morihiro Hosokawa initiated the idea of a permanent Asian-centered international forum.
Products and positioning
A high-level, Asia-centered platform for government, business, academic, and institutional leaders, often described as an Asian counterpart to the World Economic Forum.
International conference · 2002
Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference
The annual conference is the BFA's principal event. Held in Boao, it brings together senior political, business, academic, and institutional participants for keynote speeches, plenary sessions, business dialogues, policy panels, and private meetings. Themes vary by year but commonly cover economic integration, trade, globalization, technology, sustainability, development, and international cooperation.
Policy forum
Thematic forums and specialist conferences
The organization sponsors additional meetings focused on particular regional and global issues. Topics have included energy and resources, sustainable development, economic recovery, finance, innovation, and other questions affecting Asia's economic and strategic environment.
Research and knowledge service
Research and forum publications
The BFA supports the circulation of policy perspectives, economic analysis, conference conclusions, and other materials connected with Asian and global development. These outputs complement the organization's convening role and provide a record of discussions held at its meetings.
Brand decisions
2022
Use the annual forum to present the Global Security InitiativeStrategyBackground
The forum's agenda had expanded from economic integration into broader questions of international security and global governance.
Action taken
Xi Jinping announced China's Global Security Initiative during the 2022 annual meeting.
Aftermath
The announcement increased the forum's visibility as a venue for major Chinese foreign-policy messaging.
2020
Cancel the annual conference during the pandemicOtherBackground
The COVID-19 pandemic created public-health and international-travel constraints.
Action taken
The 2020 annual forum was cancelled.
Aftermath
The organization returned with virtual participation in 2021 and a fully offline annual meeting in 2023.
2002
Make Boao the permanent annual-meeting venueOtherBackground
The newly established organization needed a stable location for its flagship conference and chose Boao in Hainan, China.
Action taken
The first annual conference was held in Boao, which became the forum's permanent meeting venue.
Aftermath
Boao became central to the organization's identity and gave the international forum a fixed geographic home.
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