Keep the Asian engine running

China, Japan and other countries must make efforts to overcome their differences and strive for peace and common development

The Boao Forum for Asia, which concluded on Monday, drew a record number of participants, including dignitaries and former political leaders from five continents. The forum's annual conference, held in Boao city of Hainan province, is a platform for high-level leaders from governments, businesses and the academic world to discuss pressing issues in Asia and beyond. This year's conference, not surprisingly, drew greater attention thanks to Asia becoming the global economic powerhouse and to growing concerns over the region's stability.

Asia is now regarded as the engine of growth leading the world out of the global financial crisis. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, one of the world leaders who attended the forum, praised Asia as a "consistent global growth driver" accounting for two-thirds of global economic growth in the five years since the outbreak of the global financial crisis. And China contributed half of that growth.