Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong urged Asian countries to seize
opportunities for win-win progress at Boao Saturday morning.
Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong delivered
a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual
Meeting 2006 on April 22, held in this small scenic town of southern
China's Hainan Province. [Xinhua] |
At the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Meeting 2006, Zeng
pointed out three opportunities Asia faces to echo the theme of the conference,
"Asia Searching for Win-Win: New Opportunities for Asia."
The first opportunity is that Asia is in a relatively stable and peaceful
period for development rarely seen in its history.
"We often say that Asia should seize an opportunity for win-win progress. Now
we are faced with this important opportunity," he said.
The second one is that Asia has become one of the most dynamic regions in the
world thanks to the joint efforts of the governments and peoples of Asian
countries, he said.
Zeng noted Asia has registered an unprecedented sound momentum of
development, marked by the unleashing of huge market potential, effective
economic restructuring in various countries and areas, accelerating industrial
upgrading and fast and sustained economic growth.
"This has made Asia one of the most dynamic regions in the world and this is
another opportunity that Asia should seize for a win-win progress."
Cooperation based on equality, diversity, openness and mutual benefit is
taking shape in Asia. The overall peace, stability and development in Asia have
led to fast progress in the regional cooperation process, he said.
He added various regional and sub-regional economic cooperation mechanisms
have grown in strength, which include the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, Asia Cooperation
Dialogue, those in East Asia and Central Asia, and multilateral and bilateral
free trade arrangements.
These positive and major developments have brought about both favorable
conditions for regional cooperation and historical opportunities for the
development of Asia, he said.
"We should respect and treat each other as equals, seize the opportunities of
development and hold our destiny in our own hands."
By doing this, he said, Asian countries and areas will certainly achieve
mutual benefit and win-win progress and promote development and rejuvenation of
Asia.
About 850 Chinese and overseas officials, business people and scholars are
present at the annual meeting in the coastal scenic town in south China's island
province of Hainan.
Young tycoons share insights on leadership
Rich people tend to be the focus of attention whatever they do, and this is
particularly true of the young rich.
So the ongoing Boao Forum for Asia held a 21st Century Leaders Roundtable on
Friday and invited many of China's most successful young entrepreneurs.
They included Robin Li, Huang Guangyu and Pan Gang, who were there to reveal
their success stories and to give an insight into what makes a good leader.
It was the first time the forum, an annual gathering to discuss business
issues, had opened a special session for young business leaders.
Most of the young billionaires attributed their success to passion and
perseverance, despite popular belief that their success came quickly.
"Over the past six years I've had many difficulties," said Robin Li, CEO of
the online search engine Baidu.com. "But I never lost my passion."
Baidu now has links to 1.2 billion Chinese web pages, he said. The
38-year-old Li founded the Chinese equivalent of Google and Yahoo six years ago.
Aside from pursuing more business success, the young tycoons also talked
about social responsibility.
"Speculation and seeking short-term interests do not make great business,"
said Huang Guangyu, chairman of Gome Electrical Appliances, China's top
appliance retailer.
"Incorporating business goals into overall social development is the right
path for a company to take," he said.
Huang, 37, started his business venture when he was 17 with 4,000 yuan
(US$380) in his pocket. Today his Gome chain has more than 460 outlets
countrywide. Gome's listing in Hong Kong in 2004 made him a billionaire.
Pan Gang, president of Yili Group, one of the country's leading dairy
producers, said being a young leader means more than just handling a business.
"Leadership requires strategic thinking and foresight, whereas business
management is about details," he said.
Full text of Chinese vice president's address at Boao