A high-level think tank forum unfolded in Beijing and Haikou, Hainan province on Saturday, with experts and scholars expressing optimistic views about the prospects of industrial cooperation between Hainan and ASEAN countries.

Tian Xueyuan, professor and member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the industries of Hainan and ASEAN are highly complementary. Tropical agriculture, marine fisheries, tourism and other industries are important for both sides, but the development situations differ. Hainan and ASEAN countries can give full play to both sides' respective advantages to strengthen cooperation, Tian said.

Kong Tuan Yuen, research fellow at the East Asian Institute of National University of Singapore, said high-efficiency tropical agriculture is an important industry in both Hainan and ASEAN. Agricultural science and technology are a good direction for China-ASEAN cooperation, and Hainan can make good use of its geographical superiority as a test field, Kong said.

Chi Fulin, president of the China Institute for Reform and Development, said the Hainan Free Trade Port is a strategic hub and natural intersection for comprehensive cooperation between China and ASEAN countries. Because of its advantages in geography and its high-level opening policies and institutional arrangements, the Hainan FTP is bound to play a significant role in taking cooperation and exchanges between China and ASEAN to a higher-level and covering wider areas, Chi said.

In this context, in collaboration with its counterparts the institute proposes to build a think tank alliance, aiming to establish a key cooperation platform that provides intellectual support for economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between China and ASEAN countries.

The forum was jointly organized by the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs, the China Institute for Reform and Development, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies of Indonesia and the East Asian Institute of National University of Singapore.

The China Institute for Free Trade Ports with Chinese Characteristics sponsored the event, which attracted more than 200 participants.