Who is he?
Zhou Wenzhong has served as the secretary-general of the Boao Forum for Asia since 2010. He is also vice president of the China-U.S. People’s Friendship Association and a member of the Standing Committee of the 12th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
A career diplomat, Ambassador Zhou has held a number of high-profile positions in Beijing and abroad, including as Chinese ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2010 and, prior to that, for two years as a vice minister of Foreign Affairs.
Mr. Zhou holds degrees from University of International Business and Economics, Bath University, and the London School of Economics.
Zhou Wenzhong. Source: National Academy of Sciences’ flickr photostream, used under a creative commons license.
Why is he in the news?
Zhou played a major role in planning the annual Boao Forum, held the last week of March in the southern Chinese province of Hainan. The forum featured 77 separate panel discussions and presentations from a host of high-profile foreign leaders over three days, organized around the theme of moving Asia “towards a community of common destiny.”
Under Zhou’s stewardship over the past five years, the forum’s prominence has grown significantly. This is evident both in the expanding attendance and growing international attention focused on the event, and in President Xi Jinping’s decision to present a major address on China’s much-touted “One Belt, One Road” strategy at the forum, which coincided with the release of a new “vision statement” on the initiative from China’s top economic planning agency (Chinese here).
What can we expect from him?
Zhou is known for being well-connected and a consummate diplomat during his time as ambassador to the United States.
In his role as secretary-general, Zhou has been outspoken on the importance of building Asia-centric organizations. He has argued this is critical to strengthening the region’s “integration and self-reliance,” and enhancing Asian nations’ role in global economic governance, one of the central stated goals of the Boao Forum.
More recently, his remarks have focused on the challenges and opportunities of implementing China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative, a major focus at Boao this year. Moving forward, he will likely continue to play an important role in supporting Beijing’s efforts to promote, explain, and enlist support for the initiative as it evolves.
