Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Wednesday sang the praises of China’s leader, Xi Jinping, at the Boao Forum for Asia and predicted that Beijing would soon rise as the world’s biggest power.
“Today [China] is poised to become the largest economy in the world. So the leadership of China on the Boao Forum makes the forum very, very important,” said Arroyo, who was elected to the board of directors of the forum, billed as Asia’s answer to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
As a Boao director, Arroyo said she was keen to observe the leadership of President Xi.
“He is a very important person in a very important country and we are all very eager, and look forward to the continuing leadership of China in the region’s economy and the world’s economy,” said Arroyo, whose nine-year presidency was marked by closer military and economic ties between Manila and Beijing.
China, the second biggest economy after the United States, was tipped to become the world’s largest by year 2030.
Arroyo’s election as board member signaled the exit of former President Fidel V. Ramos, who was one of eight outgoing members of the Council of Advisers and among those who conceptualized the forum that seeks to gather Asia’s top leaders to discuss the region’s economic challenges. —DJ Yap