BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao has arrived in the southern province of Hainan for the annual meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) opening on Saturday.

    The forum, April 11-13, is a platform for high-level interaction between leaders from Asia and the world. Boao has been the permanent venue of the annual regional economic forum since 2001.

    Hu, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, was currently on an inspection tour of the island, discussing reform and development issues with local officials and visiting with a public made up of various ethnic groups.

    The island province marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Hainan special economic zone (SEZ) later this month.

    Founded in 1988, Hainan is one of the five SEZs established since 1980. The others are Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamen, all in southern China.

Editor: Wang Hongjiang