BOAO, Hainan - The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) has become an important forum with growing global influence and reached a new starting point, Chinese President Xi Jinping said here Sunday.

Delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the BFA Annual Conference 2013, Xi said he hopes the forum will scale an even greater height.

With a theme of "Asia Seeking Development for All: Restructuring, Responsibility and Cooperation", the conference is held in Boao, a coastal town in South China's island province of Hainan.