Why Does a Roundtable Keep Global Chinese Entrepreneurs Coming Back Year After Year?
“I have never missed the annual roundtable,” said Zhang Yin, Honorary President of the China Federation of overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs and Chairwoman of Nine Dragons Paper Holdings Limited. Speaking on March 25 at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026 • Roundtable of Chinese Overseas Business Leaders and Chinese Think Tanks (hereinafter referred to as "the Roundtable"), she said, “I look forward to the roundtable every year. It is a gathering of friends from the global Chinese business community. While benefiting from China's policies, we also learn from and exchange with one another.”
Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026 • Roundtable of Chinese Overseas Business Leaders and Chinese Think Tanks. (CNS)
The connection between Chinese entrepreneurs and Boao dates back to an initiative by Dhanin Chearavanont, President of the China Federation of overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs and Senior Chairman of Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Group. In 2011, the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference first hosted the Roundtable. More than 30 entrepreneurs from nearly ten countries and regions gathered under the theme “Chinese Entrepreneurs and Asian Economic Development,” discussing how to strengthen cooperation and achieve new success amid a new round of economic growth in China and ASEAN.
Since then, the Boao Forum for Asia has amplified the“voice of overseas Chinese.” The Roundtable has continued to focus on key issues, playing a positive role in building consensus among Chinese entrepreneurs and encouraging their active participation in the development of China, Asia, and the world.
From its debut in 2011, to the 2017 focus on“Chinese Entrepreneurs Joining Hands to Prosper the Silk Road,” to the 2019 in-depth discussions on “Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind: Participation and Opportunities for Overseas Chinese,” and now to this year's theme of “Seizing New Opportunities for New Development,” with a spotlight on artificial intelligence and other emerging topics, the roundtable has consistently grounded itself in China's development, taken a broad view of Asia, and connected to the global future.
To date, the Roundtablehas attracted hundreds of leading Chinese entrepreneurs and think tank experts from around the world. Many, like Zhang Yin, have attended multiple times.
What draws Chinese entrepreneurs to Boao is the platform it provides for dialogue with global leaders from government, business, and academia. Zhai Jingli, Vice President of APP China, who has attended multiple times, said she actively shares her company's long-term experience in multinational manufacturing. This year, she is focusing on three areas closely related to manufacturing: “regional economic integration,” “digital and intelligent empowerment for industrial upgrading,” and “sustainable development and green transformation.”
Chinese entrepreneurs are also drawn to Boao because it enables them to accurately identify new opportunities in China's development. Over the past decade, from the economic transformation during the“12th Five-Year Plan” to the high-level opening-up of the“15th Five-Year Plan,” from high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port, the Roundtable has consistently kept pace with China's development and highlighted emerging opportunities.
“Learning about the Hainan Free Trade Port policies in detail today was truly exciting!” said Deng Long, President of the American Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the U.S.-based D&D LIQUOR & WINE, LLC, attending the event for the first time. He noted that as a group rooted overseas and deeply engaged in real industries, Chinese entrepreneurs gain insight into China's new development opportunities through the Roundtable. He plans to initiate feasibility studies for investment in Hainan.
At this year's roundtable, Dhanin Chearavanont noted that 2026 marks the opening year of China's “15th Five-Year Plan.” With political stability, significant achievements in high-quality development, and expanding openness and cooperation, China offers unprecedented opportunities for Chinese entrepreneurs. “Chinese entrepreneurs should pay close attention to the new opportunities brought by China's innovation-driven transformation, continue to strengthen their businesses in China, and leverage their global resource advantages to help outstanding Chinese enterprises go global.”