BOAO, Hainan, April 12 -- As Friday's curtain came down on this year's Boao Forum forAsia (BFA), a public diplomacy event, the lasting effect on China should be progress andreform.
It is fair to say that the four days of the conference, covering sixty topics and attractingover 3,000 global figures from all walks of life, were a good example of public diplomacyitself.
As we know, actions speak louder and better than words, and this is especially true whenenhancing a country's influence in the diplomatic world. Enduring international appealdoes not come from publicity campaigns, but from competitiveness fuelled by continuousreform.
China is indeed attractive to the world with its history and culture, but more importantly,it is now a marketplace of middle class consumers for global investors.
The rosy future is not without thorns, however. While barriers still exist in many sectors- intellectual property rights protection is weak and regional development, uneven -China is well aware of its problems, evident during the forum events attended by officialswith a clear reform map in mind.
From entrepreneurship to innovation, from microfinance to opening up capital markets,from the Shanghai FTZ to the maritime Silk Road, the range of reforms shows aneagerness for new growth, through both domestic reform and international cooperation.
Cross-market trading by mainland and Hong Kong investors on the Hong Kong andShanghai stock exchanges was announced during the forum, and we can expect morereforms, as mentioned in Premier Li Keqiang's speech at the opening ceremony. China iscommitted to opening up markets, economic restructuring and improving the lives of itspeople.
Credibility is the cornerstone of effective public diplomacy, and China now has to honorits promises to earn global trust and approval.
Reform cannot be achieved overnight and it will be an uphill journey. A China story withtwists and turns will be a more interesting -- and convincing -- form of public diplomacy.
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