Mike Wells said he has high expectations about this year's
Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference, even though travel restrictions
caused by the COVID-19 pandemic mean that he can only participate in the
event via video link.
The chief executive of Prudential Plc, Britain's largest insurer,
said conversations at this year's forum, which concludes on Wednesday,
have offered him some of the most interesting insights on China.
"It is an important opportunity for honest dialogue with policymakers
and thought leaders from across the region. This year I am looking
forward to contributing on a subject I am passionate about－the drive to
open up the financial sector in China," he said.
Wells said he was fortunate to witness a landmark moment at the
forum－when President Xi Jinping delivered an important keynote speech in
Boao in 2018 and announced a host of decisions that charted the course
to open up various sectors in China, including banking, securities,
insurance and automobiles.
This year, the fifth time he will attend the forum, Xi will deliver a
keynote speech via video link at its opening ceremony on Tuesday.
Looking at the current international situation and global risks and
challenges, the president will elaborate on the Chinese concept and
Chinese solution on promoting Asian and global growth and prosperity,
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a news briefing on
Monday.
The opening ceremony on Tuesday will also bring together leaders from
14 countries, mostly in the Asia-Pacific region, President of the 75th
United Nations General Assembly Volkan Bozkir and Managing Director of
the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva, all of whom will
participate in the ceremony via video link.
As the forum celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, analysts and
business leaders have underlined the key role of the forum for China to
champion multilateralism and free trade, and to announce more opening-up
measures.
Shen Jianguang, chief economist at JD Digits, the digital and finance
arm of Chinese e-commerce giant JD, said China has evolved from a
newcomer to globalization to a champion of multilateralism and free
trade over the past 20 years.
China had just joined the World Trade Organization when the forum was
launched in 2001, and the nation became the largest recipient of
foreign direct investment last year, Shen said.
"The pace of China's opening-up has never come to a stop, and China
has continued to be a hot destination for foreign investment over the
years," he said.
He noted that the speech by Xi in 2018 came as globalization was
facing severe setbacks amid the unilateral moves of the Trump
administration in the United States.
"It was against this backdrop that President Xi made a strong case
for China's opening-up at Boao, and the speech went on to hugely lift
the confidence of international investors," said Shen, who is taking
part in the forum this week.
He gave examples of the success of Tesla Inc's gigafactory in
Shanghai, benefiting from policies allowing foreign carmakers to set up
wholly owned subsidiaries in China, and German chemical giant BASF's
largest-ever investment project, which was the first wholly foreign
funded project in China's heavy chemical industry.
After having signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
with another 14 participating nations and concluding in principle
negotiations on a comprehensive agreement on investment with the
European Union, China is also considering joining the Comprehensive and
Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
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