Representatives from China's southern island province of Hainan and cities and 
provinces of ASEAN countries signed a joint initiative at the Boao Forum for 
Asia (BFA) annual conference which concluded Friday, making their commitment to 
jointly building a higher level of China-ASEAN strategic partnership.

The joint initiative was signed at the ASEAN-China Governors/Mayors' Dialogue 
which was held during the BFA annual conference in Boao, a coastal town in 
Hainan.

"BFA has become an important platform for Hainan to participate in the 
construction of the Belt and Road," said Wang Sheng, director of the province's 
foreign affairs office.

In recent years, Hainan has strengthened connectivity with Belt and Road (B&R) 
countries with a series of conferences and panel discussions, such as the 
ASEAN-China Governors/Mayors' Dialogue and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road: 
Island Economic Cooperation.

Last year, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road cruise tourism program was 
proposed at the dialogue to promote the development of cruise tourism.

So far, Hainan has opened a total of 14 cruise routes to Vietnam, the 
Philippines and other ASEAN countries and cities.

The dialogue this year, with the theme "ASEAN-China Connectivity and Hainan 
Free Trade Port," emphasizes connectivity between China and ASEAN countries 
both on the sea and in the air.

A four-hour flight from Hainan could take one to 21 Asian countries and 
regions, and an eight-hour flight to 59 countries and regions in Asia, Oceania, 
Europe and Africa.

"We hope to build a platform to push forward the opening of direct flights 
between Chiang Mai and Hainan," said Viroon Phantevee, vice governor of Chiang 
Mai, Thailand at this year's dialogue.

BFA has also pushed forward cooperation between Hainan and B&R countries, with 
an array of projects carried out in recent years.

For example, projects on sharing the seed production technology of a rice breed 
have been carried out between Hainan and several ASEAN countries. With the 
technology promoted at previous ASEAN-China Governors/Mayors' Dialogue, nearly 
100 experts now come to Hainan to learn about the breed and related technology 
each year.

So far, 550,000 hectares of hybrid rice has been planted in the Philippines, 
2.5 million hectares in India, 330,000 hectares in Pakistan, 700,000 hectares 
in Vietnam and 200,000 hectares in Indonesia.

"Hainan has played an important role in the cooperation on seed production 
among ASEAN countries," Wang said.

At this year's dialogue, a series of cooperation projects have also been 
reached, including one on industry and information between Hainan and the 
Republic of Korea and another on animal husbandry with Sweden.

With the opportunities that BFA has provided, Hainan has sought more 
international cooperation, with its number of friendship cities reaching 60 and 
more to come.

BFA will better serve the Belt and Road Initiative and panel discussions will 
be held on the Hainan free trade zone and the reform, institutional innovation, 
investment and trade facilitation, business environment, and ecological 
development of the free trade port, Wang said.

"Hainan will continue to hold conferences and discussions to push forward 
practical cooperation in areas of health, blue economy, tourism, culture, 
education, technology, tropical agriculture and seed production," he said.

Source: The Foreign Affairs Office of Hainan Province