In the southern coastal resort of Boao in Hainan Province, the three-day Boao Forum is set to begin on Sunday. The economic forum will be attended by more than 2, 000 regional officials, economists and business people from both China and abroad.

A platform to inspire the way forward for Asia - with the theme "Asia in the changing world: moving towards sound and sustainable development", this year's Boao Forum focuses on Asia's future development path amid a changing global landscape.

Forty activities will be held during the three-day event. Since delegates are unable to attend all conferences, a special group has been formed to convey information through a microblog and an official website.

With only one day to go, Chinese and foreign participants are arriving to register. This year, the number of Taiwan delegates has reached a new peak.

Yao Wang, executive director of Boao Asian Forum, said, "Two honorary advisers are leading the Taiwan delegates. Besides attending communication activities, they will also take part in a mainland-Taiwan entrepreneurship meeting, promoting further exchanges."

Topics such as property markets, consumption, tourism and medical care are expected to become buzzwords at this year's forum. A round table discussion has also been set up to allow discussions on the safety and happiness of younger generations.

Meanwhile, overseas participation has greatly increased from previous years; more than 55 percent of the business leaders attending this forum are from overseas.

Yao said, "Foreign leaders are getting more and more involved in the forum. In the past, they just attended the opening ceremony and some bilateral activities. Now, they are also participating in other activities."

The forum was set up in 2001, with the aim of promoting economic dialogue and cooperation among its members. Over the past eleven years, the forum has become the region's most prestigious event for leaders in various fields to share visions on the region's most pressing issues.

Amid the global economic downturn, the Boao Forum is searching for innovative and sustainable development patterns for Asia, in an effort to tackle the challenges of a changing world.

(CNTV.cn April 1, 2012)