While the chills of early spring lingered in the North， the Boao Forum for Asia 2013 Annual Conference gathered in tropical Hainan Province from April 6 to 8. Themed “Asia Seeking Development for All： Restructuring， Responsibility and Cooperation，” the conference discussed topics concerning common development for nations in Asia and beyond.
　　Why was this theme chosen？ What has changed about cooperative modes among Asian countries and regions？ What role should China play？ With such questions in mind， China Pictorial interviewed Zhou Wenzhong， secretary-general of Boao Forum for Asia.
　　 Restructuring and Responsibility
　　Since the onset of the global financial crisis， Asia has accounted for two-thirds of the world’s economic growth. Over the past decade， annual economic growth of emerging Asian nations averaged 3.5 percent.
　　Facing increasingly complicated global economic and political patterns， Asia needs precision navigation. Zhou Wenzhong believes that restructuring is always important， but even more so in the current situation. The economic downturn and European debt crisis exposed defects in current growth modes of developed countries， which in turn illuminated problems emerging economies may face in the future. Achieving sustainable development while preventing further crisis has become a major goal for policy makers.
　　“Responsibility” was noted in the theme to promote the joint development of Asian countries， according to Zhou. “Each economy should bear common as well as differentiated responsibilities，” he asserts.“When any country enacts policy， it should consider the influence domestic policy can exert on other nations and avoid causing trouble for their neighbors.”
　　 Further Integration of Asia
　　The European Union and North American Free Trade Agreement （NAFTA） are two model economic integration systems. The integration of Asia， the most populous continent and fastest growing economy of late， however， remains stuck in incubation without substantial progress. With the tide of economic globalization and regionalization， Asian economies need to quicken their pace of regional economic integration.
　　Zhou believes that the economic integration of Asia can help overcome or fix cultural disparities and promote regional cooperation. “It’s undeniable that obstacles between Asian countries remain，” he adds.“Those hindrances are caused by both internal and external forces. At present， feasible cooperative modes should be 10+1[ASEAN plus China]， 10+3 [adding Japan and South Korea] and 10+6 [adding India， Australia and New Zealand]. To gradually increase free-trade cooperation and become more open with each other， we must identify which countries are most fit to merge economically by seeking common traits while respecting differences. But rarely are political disagreements quickly overcome.” 　　Frequent regional friction in Asia inspired much of the theme for this annual forum， reveals Zhou. “That’s why we’re focusing on mutual development，” he explains. “An Asia defined by mutual trust and cooperation， building common prosperity， not only benefits the region itself but also the rest of the world. Cooperation will help revive global economic growth and stabilize international political situations.”
　　 China’s Role
　　After more than three decades of reform and opening-up， in 2012， China’s GDP overtook Japan to become Asia’s largest economy and the world’s second largest. Zhou believes that as a result， China’s role in Asia has changed.
　　In recent years， China has become a more active participant in Asian cooperation and joint development. China’s stock of foreign direct investment （FDI） has topped US$ 400 billion， with 70 percent in sectors such as services， mining， wholesale， retail， manufacturing and transportation infrastructure within Asia.
　　“Over the coming decade， building infrastructure and primary processing of products from ASEAN （Association of Southeast Asian Nations）， India and Kazakhstan are expected to be the largest targets for Chinese investment.”
　　It would be overly optimistic to expect the global economy to rebound to full force within the next couple of years， and because China has continued achieving economic growth by investing in infrastructure， many emerging Asian economies are following suit. Zhou believes that maintaining stable and sustainable economic growth is China’s top responsibility in fueling global economic recovery.