News Zealand Prime Minister John Key arrived on Friday to attend the 2009 meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) from April 17 to 19 in south China's Hainan Province.

Prior to his departure for Hainan, Key visited in Beijing, where he met with Chinese President Hu Jintao and held talks with Premier Wen Jiabao on bilateral relations and other regional and international issues of common concern. The two sides pledged to forge closer cooperation in the various fields and signed bilateral cooperation agreements on information and tourism.

"I am keen to see New Zealand make the most of the opportunities presented by China's formidable economic growth," Key said in a speech at the Peking University on Wednesday, entitled "New Zealand and China: Our Shared Economic Future."

The BFA, established in 2001, is a high-level forum where governments, businesses and scholars promote regional economic integration and bring Asian countries closer to their development goals.

Under the theme "Asia: Managing Beyond Crisis," more than 2,700 participants will discuss how to cope with the international financial crisis.

(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2009)