The Boao Forum 2019 took place between the 26th and the 29th March, themed: ‘Shared Future, Concerted Action, Common Development’. The Opening Plenary Session was held by the Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, who highlighted the importance of a mutually beneficial cooperation in the face of world economic headwinds. He added that China would not resort to massive economic stimulus to boost growth, but would continue to open up and innovate to energize market players and strengthen endogenous stimulation for economic development.
The Bridge Tank has been a partner of the forum since 2018, and was this year represented by president Joël Ruet, who took part in several key events:
- Panelist at the session titled: ‘The Future of the Sharing Economy’, moderated by Lu Binbin, founder of BinBinBang and producer of E-Talking. Other panelists included Yunfeng Bai, President of the Tal Education Group, Kelvin Chen, co-founder and CEO of Xiaoshu.com, Marsha Ma, Vice-President and Managing Director of China Booking.com, Ming Maa, President of Grab, and Mi Wenjuan, Founder and CEO of VIPKID.
- Attended a closed door session organized by Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and former UNSG Ban-ki-moon.
- Interviewed on several occasions by Chinese and international press, notably on the midday show of the national channel CGTN. Other guests included Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French Prime Minister, and Xu Tiebing, Professor at the Communication University of China.
- Attended the ‘She Economy’ roundtable, organized by famous newscaster Lu Binbin. Ruet was the only foreign delegate to be invited to this discussion between Chinese CEOs and business owners.
- Irina Bokova, former Director-General of UNESCO and The Bridge Tank board member also attended the forum, taking part notably in two panels: ‘A Sustainable Future for Rural Asia and Cities’ and the roundtable: ‘The Power of Women and the Value of Balance’.
