The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) will hold its first international conference on the cultural industry in the city of Zhongshan in south China's Guangdong Province from Nov. 18 to 19, said forum Secretary-General Long Yongtu in Beijing on Thursday.

At a press conference, Long said an opening ceremony will be held in Beijing on Nov. 14, with former US President George Bush attending and giving a speech.

The theme of the conference is "Value, Development and Innovation." Main topics include the influence of technology on traditional culture, how China faces the international market after opening its own market, and the relations between other industries and the cultural industry.

Long said the BFA has engaged in pushing the integrity of Asia's economy and regards cultural exchanges as the basis of building an "Asia consciousness."

The development of the cultural industry in this region will help promote economic development, Long said, adding that he hopes this conference will play a role in promoting regional development.

As an open regional forum, the BFA mechanism was established four years ago. It has since attracted Asian high-level officials, businessmen and scholars, as well as elites from other parts of the world, to come to China every year to discuss hot topics in regional and global economics and politics. It also holds international meetings irregularly on a variety of topics.

(Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2005)