Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel is thus far the only European leader who is invited to attend the Boao Forum, the Asian counterpart of the World Economic Forum. The forum will prove the perfect opportunity for the Prime Minister to assure business leaders from all over the world that Belgium is a safe country to invest in and do business with.

At a Chinese New Year reception in Brussels, Mr. Qu Xing, the Chinese ambassador to Belgium, said that the invitation is proof of China's commitment to developing closer high-level relationships with Belgium, following President Xi Jinping's visit to the country in 2014, and King Phillippe's visit to China in June of last year.

The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) hopes to promote and further the economic cooperation with Asia and between Asia and other parts of the world. During the forum, high-level meetings for governments, businesses and academics are held to discuss important issues for the Asian region. This year the Boao Forum will take place from March 22 to 25.

The visit to the forum is part of the Prime Minister's image-building campaign to promote Belgium abroad. After the recent Paris terrorist attacks in November, where some of the individuals involved had Belgian citizenship, Belgium suffered quite a blow to its image. On this campaign, Charles Michel plans to visit several European countries and North America.

Source: China Daily, deredactie.be, Boao Forum for Asia