Former Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan was elected vice chairman of the board of directors of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) on Thursday.

Zeng Peiyan (L), China's Chief Representative to Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) and former Chinese Vice Premier, delivers a speech after being elected as the 13th member and Vice Chairman of BFA Board of Directors Meeting, in Boao, a scenic town in south China's Hainan Province, on April 16, 2009. The BFA Members General Meeting was held on Thursday. [Xinhua]

Zeng, the Chinese chief representative of the forum, was nominated and approved at a board meeting held before the BFA Annual Conference 2009. The forum, the eighth of its kind, is scheduled for April 17 to April 19 in Boao, a small town in the country's southernmost Hainan Province.

"It's my honor to be elected vice chairman of the BFA board of directors," said Zeng. "I will do my best to support chairman Mr. Ramos and help the forum grow to become a world-class organization."

Scholars, political and business leaders from around the globe will attend the annual conference.

Established in 2001, the forum is a pan-Asian platform of dialogue for key issues affecting Asia and the world. The theme of this year's annual conference is "Asia: Managing Beyond Crisis."

(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2009)