By Zhao Wei

‘Competition， yes. Enemies， no.” This was how Carlos Gutierrez， former U.S. Secretary of Commerce， characterized relations between the worlds two largest economies during the First Global Economic Development and Security Forum （GEDS） of the Boao Forum for Asia （BFA）， which took place in Changsha， Hunan Province， on October 18-20.

In a video speech， Gutierrez expressed his concerns about the recent deterioration. “Technology competition seems to have expanded beyond just the commercial leaders， and supply chains built over many years are not functioning，” he said.

However， it is his hope that the U.S. and China can solve their problems through dialogue. “Because we have done better in the past. Talking， listening， arguing， but always with the goal of fixing the problem， always with the goal of understanding and minimizing impact. We have also learned that we can coexist in an environment of mutual respect.”

China-U.S. relations are just one of the many hot topics for debate at the three-day event that featured 22 sub-forums and drew more than 2，600 participants onsite and online.

“The theme of the conference， Economic Security and Sustainable Development in a Changing World， covers a broad range of questions to which we all are trying to find answers，” Ville Skinnari， Finlands Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade， said in his video remarks.

Economy， security and beyond

Ban Ki-moon， former UN Secretary General and Chairman of the BFA， quoted Chinese President Xi Jinping in his opening remarks， “Security is a prerequisite for development， whereas development safeguards security.”

Ban said he believes that GEDS explores the right balance， interdependence and interplay of development and security. “Doing a good job on two fronts and along two parallel lines is the key to the sustainable future of us all，” he continued. “The call to action， solidarity and multilateralism has been echoed， loud and clear， in this part of the world and at this conference.”

The BFA announced back in 2019 its plans to host a forum on global economic development and security. However， due to the outbreak of COVID-19， organizers had to postpone the inaugural event. “But it also reinforces the necessity of establishing this international platform，” BFA Secretary General Li Baodong said at a news conference.

Focusing on economic and non-traditional security issues in fields such as climate， food， finance， cybersecurity and supply chains， the GEDS established the goal of building a major international forum and dialogue platform for finding solutions， and galvanizing joint action to deal with global challenges.