China’s role in future globalization has become a key topic at the Melbourne Conference of Boao Forum for Asia on Dec 7 and 8, with over 300 attendees from over 10 countries.

Despite the global economic slowdown and a rising anti-free trade trend, China’s Belt and Road initiative has opened a new path for economic globalization, conference guests said.

After the 2008 financial crisis, world economy and globalization hit a block, and are struggling amid impacts from the Greek debt crisis and Brexit in recent years.

According to Zeng Peiyan, vice-chairman of Boao Forum, the current anti-globalization trend is mainly caused by discord among international rules, financial distribution mechanism, internal adjustment of economies, and increasing economic globalization.

Indian representative Sudheendra Kulkarni, head of the Observer Research Foundation, said the emergence of Asia and developing countries has changed the global landscape, and China’s Belt and Road initiative will benefit the Asian-Pacific region.

Australian Minister for Revenue and Financial Services Kelly O’Dwyer said the China-Australia free trade agreement has unlimited potential, and Australia has already benefited from the agreement in agriculture and services.

Linda Yueh, head of the China Growth Center at Oxford, said China, as the second-largest world economy, has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in the past 30 years, making great contributions to the world economy and economic globalization.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jennifer Shipley said it was the right moment for New Zealand and Australia to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. China has demonstrated great leadership in win-win cooperation with other regional countries.

Secretary-General of Boao Forum Zhou Wenzhong said leaders expressed their will to push forward progress in the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, showing that FTAAP is a vision and consensus for all Asia-Pacific countries.

Chinese leaders have expressed the concept of a destined human community at many international occasions, an ultimate goal for economic globalization, and many at the conference agreed.