OREANDA-NEWS. A delegation of the CCI of Russia led by Chamber President Sergey Katyrin has taken part in the 12th annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia on the Chinese Island of Hainan on April 5-7.

The Forum for Asia traditionally discusses the most acute problems of international development. This year’s conference had the theme Asia Seeking Common Development: Restructuring, Responsibility & Cooperation.

The Annual Forum 2013 opened with a meeting of the BFA Board of Directors on April 5. The CCI of Russia President, who was elected to the body at the last year conference of the Forum, attended the meeting. BFA members held a general meeting.

On April 6 conference delegates discussed the global management reform and the role of G20 countries in that process.

There was a panel meeting with the theme Emerging Markets Losing Speed. Sergey Katyrin took part in the discussion. The free discussion centered on the new slowdown of the global economy and the risk of a new recession. A possible drop of energy prices is extremely topical in this context, the participants said. Such events may create serious risks to the Russian economy, too. What measures may help to get rid of dependence on gas and oil exports? What effect the Russian entry into the WTO may bring about with this regard? CCI of Russia President presented his vision.

Energy exports account from 30% to 50% of Russian economic growth at present. Russia is taking the following key measures to overcome its dependence on oil and gas exports for revitalizing and modernizing its economy and lessening its reliance on natural resources: promotion of non-resource exports, development of high-tech industries, upgrade of business climate and improvement of the efficiency and transparency of state management. It is necessary to shift to the innovative development, reduce the government’s share in the economy, overcome infrastructural disconnection, modernize key industries and the defense sector, efficiently fight corruption and develop integration.

Russia has a comprehensive approach to the elaboration of measures to back up Russian companies’ entry into foreign markets. The share of export beginners (in the total number of registered small and medium companies) is forecasted to exceed 20% in 2015. The Export Loan and Investment Insurance Agency has been working since 2011. The share of high-tech exports may more than double by 2020, while the share of high-tech and intellectual industries in the country’s GDP will grow 1.5 times.

Support to high-tech industries is a major task. A number of steps have been taken in the past four years to modernize and innovate the economy. A number of innovative economic development institutes has been established, a law has been adopted to permit the establishment of small innovative enterprises at higher educational establishments, a strategy of the innovative development of the Russian economy has been elaborated, laws have been adopted to lower administrative barriers to innovative companies, technological platforms have been launched to unite education, science and business and pilot programs have been started up to support and develop innovative clusters in Russian regions.

The share of innovative industries and high-tech exports will grow considerably within the next few years alongside R&D allocations. The participation of small and medium business in innovative development programs of state companies will broaden.

The business climate is one of weak points of the Russian economy. The National Entrepreneurial Initiative for Improvement of the Investment Climate in the Russian Federation is being implemented, and customs and tax regulatory systems are being optimized. Access to public procurement is broadening within the Federal Contract System, measures are being taken to eradicate discrimination of business in the access to property and land, and business security is being upgraded (primarily with the strengthening of the judiciary and law enforcement systems).

The largest business associations of the country – the CCI of Russia, the RUIE, Business Russia and OPORA of Russia – signed the Anti-Corruption Charter of the Russian Business in September 2012. Therefore business supported the anti-corruption policy of the authorities. The institute of the representative for protection of rights of entrepreneurs (the business ombudsman) and his regional offices are being created. Efficiency and transparency of state management are being upgraded.

51 events have been planned for this year, including mini-forums, roundtables and debates on the most pressing problems of global development. The Forum hosts meetings of ministers and big business at business lunches, as well as debates and cocktail parties organized by guests and delegates of the conference.

Major politicians and businessmen attended the Forum. Some 1,477 representatives of 43 countries expressed their wish to attend the Forum this year; approximately 1,000 journalists from various media outlets were accredited to cover the event.

Boao, after which the Forum was named, is a small town on the eastern coast of Hainan Island, 17 kilometers east of the town Jiaji and 200 kilometers north of the Sanya resort. The BFA is headquartered there.

The BoaoForum for Asia was established in February 2001 at the founding conference attended by delegates of 26 states. The BFA is a permanent non-governmental non-profit international regional organization headquartered in BJSC , which, as its founding documents declare, is bound to assist in the promotion of prosperous, stable, harmonious, self-sufficient and peacefully co-existing with other regions, new Asia and the attainment of socioeconomic development goals with the presentation of a floor for the dialog between representatives of political, public, scientific and business communities of various countries.

The organization structure consists of the conference, the governing council, the advisory council, the secretariat and the think tank. The conference is the main plenipotentiary body of the Forum, which is held on a regular basis in Boao in April.

The Forum organizers are confident that closer economic integration will allow Asian countries to develop more efficiently. Yet, in the opinion of leading economists shared by the Forum participants, this year has a great uncertainty. Transformation of large economies adjusting to new realities progresses with difficulty. The Forum members think that countries should work together for the common and individual benefit under the current circumstances. The protectionist policy is harmful now. It is of paramount importance to promote ideas of mutually beneficial international cooperation, seek points of contact and overcome disagreements.

The contemporary world economy is threatened with economic growth slowdown. The blame is put on the so-called "Medium Income Trap" into which BRICS countries have fallen. It is a regular danger for countries transiting from the poor to the rich status. Swift growth in these countries is replaced with a slowdown because of inconsistency with the goals and tasks of the economic productivity. As a rule, that happens when the income per capita reaches approximately USD 16,000 (in prices of 2005). Russia will reach the threshold by 2014 and other BRICS countries will do that later, but signs of their possible falling into the trap are already obvious. Still many economists believe that Russia has a chance to avoid the trap if certain measures are adopted. A positive scenario is possible if the country takes some infrastructural measures, efficiently broadens non-resource export and develops high-tech industries at accelerating rates.

Hosts of the Boao Forum were extremely amicable and attentive to the delegation of the CCI of Russia representing the largest public association of the Russian business. The Chamber has long been establishing successful and diverse contacts between Russian and Chinese businessmen; its representatives worked actively at the latest SCO forum and in Durban (South Africa) where a large business forum took place ahead of the latest BRICS summit. During the Russian visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping the CCI of Russia assisted in the organization and holding of two large forums of Russian and Chinese businessmen where new contacts were established and promising cooperation areas were mapped out.

On Sunday, April 7, members of BFA Board of Directors met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the Boao Forum sidelines. The Chinese leader addressed the plenary meeting of the conference. No1 task for our countries is economic modernization and new forms of economic development, which will meet the demands of the changing world, he said. The Chinese president called for interaction for the sake of sustainable development.