China's Xi addresses opening ceremony of BFA annual conference

APD NEWS

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Chinese President Xi Jinping started to deliver a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia Tuesday morning.

China began its historic journey of reform and opening-up in 1978, and the Chinese people have added a glorious chapter to the development epic of the country and the nation over the past four decades, said President Xi Jinping on Tuesday.

He made the remarks while delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in the southern province of Hainan.

Over the past 40 years, China's GDP has averaged an annual growth rate of around 9.5 percent in comparable prices. The country's foreign trade has registered an annual growth of 14.5 percent in US dollar.

"The Chinese people have emerged from a life of shortages and poverty and are now enjoying abundant supply and a moderately prosperous life," Xi noted.

The conference runs from April 8 to 11 in Boao, a town in south China's island province of Hainan, and is themed "An Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity."

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)