A Chinese state leader will attend the Boao Forum for Asia next month, which organizers said would provide an “Asian perspective” for global governance and promote Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The forum’s secretary general Li Baodong said on Tuesday that a Chinese state leader will participate in the forum to be held from April 18 to 21 in Boao, a coastal town in the southern Chinese province of Hainan. Another Chinese leader would address the opening ceremony remotely.

It is unclear which Chinese leader would travel to Hainan. Since 2012, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have taken turns to attend the Boao Forum. Li appeared in 2019, and the event was cancelled last year for public health reasons.

Taiwan’s representatives have chosen not to attend this year’s forum due to COVID-19 concerns, according to Taiwan’s EBC News. The self-ruled island has traditionally been represented by former vice president Vincent Siew, who attends the forum in his role as honorary chair of the Cross-Straits Common Market Foundation.

Taiwanese business representatives based in mainland China have also indicated they will not travel to Hainan for the forum, EBC News reported.

The event this year had the theme “A world in change: join hands to strengthen global governance and advance Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation,” the forum’s secretary general said at the Tuesday press conference.

“With the flow of production factors blocked, the BRI cooperation has promoted economic recovery in Asia and adjacent regions, demonstrated the determination of Asian countries to promote international cooperation, and also provided an ‘Asian perspective’ for improving global governance,” Li Baodong said.

The event will be held in accordance with Chinese pandemic control regulations, he said.

Forum participants who want to attend the event in person must have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Chinese state media People’s Daily. Participants also have the option of joining remotely.

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