Forum on Asia by Asia launched.

BOAO, Hainan, China (JP): Chinese President Jiang Zemin on Tuesday launched the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), a new platform for government and non-government leaders of the region to address their problems from regional perspectives.

Jiang and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia, two of three leaders who delivered keynote addresses at the inauguration in this new secluded beach resort overlooking the South China Sea, both singled out economic globalization as the overriding issue that the forum should address.

"The beginning of the new millennium has witnessed an in-depth growth of economic globalization and regional economic cooperation," Jiang said. …