Globalization and free trade to top 2018 Boao agenda

Globalization and free trade will continue to top the agenda for this year's annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia, which focuses on solving the shared problems facing the Asia-Pacific region, the secretary-general of the forum said on Thursday.

In a world with a rising anti-globalization mentality and trade protectionism, the region needs open, coordinated, inclusive and balanced development more than ever before, said Zhou Wenzhong, secretary-general of the BFA at a news conference held in Beijing.

"We need to broaden the depth and breadth of regional cooperation in a way that would lead to a more open and better-coordinated Asia," Zhou said.