Asian economies, with real GDP growth projected to be 4.5 percent for 2025, will continue to play a crucial role in driving global economic stability and growth, said a report released on Tuesday at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2025.

The forum comes soon after the China Development Forum 2025, which ended on Monday, and gathered top government officials and business leaders from across the globe. Experts said the forums' key message is crystal clear, that Asia — spearheaded by China — is reinforcing its commitment to openness and stability, presenting a sharp contrast to the rising economic isolation featured by the United States' arbitrary sanctions and tariffs.

The "Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress Annual Report 2025", which was released on Tuesday, forecast that the share of Asian economies' GDP in the world economy will rise from 36.1 percent in 2024 to 36.4 percent in 2025. In terms of purchasing power parity, a metric comparing economic productivity and standards of living between countries, Asia's share of the global economy is projected to rise from 48.1 percent to 48.6 percent this year.

Economies including China, India, Vietnam, the Philippines, Mongolia, Cambodia and Indonesia are expected to maintain a high growth rate of over 5 percent this year, the report said.

Zhang Yuyan, a renowned economist and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, "Such an economic performance means that Asia, as a key driver of the world economy, is set to benefit from global economic stabilization in 2025 and will also play a crucial role in contributing to this stability."

The report also said that despite economic uncertainties, including monetary policy shifts in major economies such as the US and the European Union, and geopolitical tensions, most Asian stock markets are expected to maintain an upward trend this year.

Amid such growth, China remains the region's most attractive destination for foreign investors. China's vibrant innovation in fields such as artificial intelligence, reflected by DeepSeek, has reinforced its status as a safe haven for entrepreneurship in a world where US sanctions pose increasing risks.

Zhou Xiaochuan, a former governor of the People's Bank of China, said at the conference: "China is responding to global demands with responsibility and courage, continuing to provide stability and certainty to the world. As the year 2025 marks the conclusion of China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), China will further deepen comprehensive reforms and expand high-level opening-up.

"China will adopt a more proactive fiscal policy and a moderately accommodative monetary policy, boost consumption, enhance investment efficiency and expand domestic demand across all sectors," he said.

Notably, the report highlighted that the trade war, which was initiated by the US in 2018, has not improved the US' standing in global manufacturing value chains. Instead, the gap between China and the US in this sector has widened.

Global intermediate goods trade has become more dependent on China than on North America. In 2023, the dependency on China stood at 16 percent, compared with 15 percent for North America, the report said.

Lin Guijun, former vice-president of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said: "The latest US tariffs have an impact on all major trade partners, not just China. Other nations are reacting in a fragmented and weak manner, lacking coordinated responses."

Zhang, from the CASS, said: "While international cooperation once aimed at mutual benefit, many nations have shifted toward a zero-sum game, and with the US' new trade measures, the situation has now worsened to a negative-sum game, where countries accept their own losses as long as their rivals suffer even more."

"But the world needs a more open economy based on cooperation and shared prosperity. True success comes not just from personal gain but from lifting others up as well," he said.

With the theme of "Asia in the Changing World: Towards a Shared Future", the four-day event has attracted nearly 2,000 participants from more than 60 countries and regions, according to the forum's organizing committee.

Claus Rettig, president of German specialty chemicals giant Evonik Asia Pacific, who is attending this year's forum, said: "We have unwavering confidence in China's growth. The Asia-Pacific region is one of Evonik's fastest-expanding markets, and China sits at its core with the largest market share.

"China is the world's top chemical market, backed by a robust infrastructure and a deeply integrated supply chain," he added. "We see China's economic strength as a solid foundation for growth and remain committed to expanding our investment here."

Scheduled for March 25-28, the Boao Forum for Asia will be held at a time of extraordinary challenges and opportunities. Ever since its launch in 2001, the forum has both reflected and shaped vital structural shifts, including China's entry into the World Trade Organization (2001), its "peaceful rise" (from 2004), overcoming the global financial crisis (2009), antidotes to the US tariff wars (2018), and the China-proposed Global Security Initiative amid external attempts to divide Asia (2022).

For the past two decades, the forum has been promoting regional economic integration by helping to bring Asian countries closer to their economic goals, even against economic headwinds.

More than half a decade ago, the tariffs imposed during Donald Trump's first presidency on almost $400 billion worth of Chinese goods affected more than 90 percent of Sino-US trade. Today, the first round of the US' tariff war against Canada, Mexico and China alone will affect trade worth more than $1.3 trillion.

As evidenced by US President Trump's threats to launch new tariffs and consequent reversals, economic rationality has given way to geopolitical saber-rattling. Unchallenged, these measures will further escalate trade tensions, disrupt trade flows, and impair complex and integrated supply chains in Asia.

Vietnam and China's Taiwan island are most exposed to higher US tariffs because of their high export-to-GDP ratios with the US (30 percent and 15 percent respectively). Apart from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Republic of Korea, Asian economies with large trade surpluses with the US — the Chinese mainland and China's Taiwan island, Vietnam and Japan — also risk facing further US tariffs.

As the Trump administration's tariffs move from countries to target sectors, including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, steel and aluminum, over a quarter of exports from the ROK, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and China's Taiwan island is likely to be affected. Worse, Trump has vowed to take "reciprocal tariff" measures on imports from every country that taxes US products. Additionally, the US administration could resort to non-tariff measures including charging value-added tax, tightening import regulations, and tweaking the currency exchange rates.

Devoid of any economic rationale, such actions would impose on the world US-style deregulation, privatization and dollar manipulation.

Being targeted by unwarranted and likely illicit tariffs by the US is the negative "shared future" of Asia. But no threat comes without a silver lining.

Asian countries and regions can deepen regional integration and strengthen trade ties with countries other than the US, particularly in the Global South, to offset the effects of US tariffs.

Asian economies can deepen inter-regional integration with the European Union. The greatest economic growth opportunities are in emerging Asia and other parts of the Global South, as intraregional trade in Asia has increased by 43 percent over the past four decades. More than half of Asian trade is regional, with foreign direct investment showing a similar trend.

Further, increasing trade diversification fosters complex and globalized supply chains. But in its misguided tariff wars, the US, keen to reduce its reliance on Chinese pharmaceuticals, has bought from countries like India. But the Indian companies, which supplied almost half of all generic prescription medicines to the US in 2022, purchase the bulk of their pharmaceutical ingredients from China.

The cost of tariffs is typically borne by supply chains and end buyers. The West, especially the US, has been making efforts to "reshore" multinationals and major industries. But that's a costly game, for it severely penalizes businesses and consumers. The tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China alone will cost an average US household an additional $1,200 a year.

As the global trade in goods flattens, the flow of services in Asia is surging; the service sector now employs more than twice as many workers as in 1990. According to the International Monetary Fund, Asia's labor productivity in financial services is four times higher than in manufacturing, and twice as high in business services.

Finally, Asia is benefiting from the dramatic acceleration of digitalization and artificial intelligence, and sustainable development.

The above are but a few promising signs for Asia.

Besides, a month ago, President Xi Jinping gave a strong push to the private sector by holding a meeting with the founders and CEOs of tech giants such as Huawei, BYD, Will Semiconductor, Unitree Robotics and Xiaomi. These Chinese tech giants are both scaling up innovation and trendsetting Asia's shared future in advanced services, digitalization and AI, and sustainable development.

As for green technology, China is already moving to fund the country's climate transition through a variety of innovative financing mechanisms. With its pivotal role in the global economy, it is expediting the process of green transition and offering new development potential.

Aside from pioneering high-tech and equipment manufacturing industries in electric vehicles, solar cells and industrial robotics, China is fostering "industries of the future", including bio-manufacturing, quantum technology, embodied AI, and 6G. And China's DeepSeek, which along with other Chinese companies, has developed sophisticated generative AI models at a much lower cost, sidelining leading US artificial intelligence companies in January.

Spurring the expeditious adoption of AI, China is helping AI technology play a bigger role in global economic growth. The greater the regional integration, the stronger will be the acceleration effect across Asia, which today "contributes over 50 percent of global growth", as IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said recently.

In promoting such a shared future, the Boao Forum for Asia could prove historical, since what happens in Asia doesn't stay in Asia.

The author is founder of Difference Group and has served at the India, China and America Institute (US), Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (China) and the EU Center (Singapore).

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

If you have a specific expertise, or would like to share your thought about our stories, then send us your writings at opinion@chinadaily.com.cn, and comment@chinadaily.com.cn.

Editor's note: Efforts to advance Asia-Pacific cooperation face challenges like rising geopolitical tensions, unilateralism and protectionism. In such circumstances, countries in the region should uphold multilateralism, free trade, and enhance cooperation through platforms such as Boao Forum for Asia for the betterment of the region. Three experts share their views on the issue with China Daily.

Despite the emergence of a multilateral world order influenced by Eurasia and BRICS amid the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, the Donald Trump administration is not only pushing ahead with its "America First" strategy but also following a new foreign policy. This shift will lead to a major transformation of the existing world order.

But even before the inauguration of the Trump 2.0 administration, the then Yoon Suk-yeol government in the Republic of Korea had been pursuing a foreign policy focused on the ROK-US alliance and the ROK-US-Japan security cooperation, pushing the country toward a serious crisis.

Since taking office, the Yoon government has engaged in confrontationist diplomacy with China and Russia, not to mention the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The ROK's diplomacy is based on the US' neoconservative worldview, which runs counter to the emerging multilateral world order, and looks to strengthen the ROK-US alliance and ROK-US-Japan trilateral security cooperation, and promotes Washington's "Indo-Pacific" strategy.

After the outbreak of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, emerging powers in the Global South and BRICS, seeking a change in the existing world order, have rapidly gained prominence. The G7 economies, including the United States which has been a global leader since World War II, have been gradually losing their heft. In contrast, the overall trade and economic strengths of BRICS have surpassed that of the G7, with the gap between the two continuing to widen. This shift is contributing to the transformation of the existing world order led by the Western powers.

Notably, at the BRICS Summit held in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates officially joined the grouping. And Indonesia became a full-time BRICS member in January this year. The Kazan summit, in a significant development, announced a mid- to long-term plan to gradually reduce the use of the US dollar to settle trade among BRICS member states and, instead, promote the use of an independent BRICS settlement currency.

The continuing Ukraine crisis has sounded an alarm to the US-led world order, and the emergence of a multilateral world order with the Global South, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS at its core.

On the other hand, the ROK and Japan face a major historical turning point, where they must seek a new direction for strategic cooperation with China in line with the new world order. At a China-Japan-ROK meeting in the ROK last year, the three countries discussed six major issues: people-to-people exchanges, promoting sustainable development through cooperation to mitigate the effects of climate change, economic and trade cooperation, cooperation in healthcare and eldercare, cooperation in science and technology including digital technology, and cooperation in disaster management. But they could not reach any consensus on political, diplomatic and security issues.

Hence, it is imperative that the three countries explore strategic common grounds in line with the principles of the emerging multilateral world order. Especially, they should reach a strategic consensus on the changes in the world order, because without such a consensus, they cannot deepen economic and trade cooperation.

In this regard, the ROK should abandon its confrontational diplomacy, because it is contributing to the intensification of China-US strategic competition and escalating tensions with the DPRK. The ROK should also promote peace and prosperity, and advocate for peaceful coexistence in the region. If the US-Japan-ROK security alliance continues to focus on strengthening the US military's presence in the Asia-Pacific, and if the trio persists on interfering in the Taiwan question and escalating the Korean Peninsula denuclearization issue, the ROK's and Japan's relations with China will deteriorate further.

Hence, China, Japan and the ROK need to make efforts to strengthen advanced technology exchanges based on mutual benefit, enabling their companies to engage in multilateral cooperation, because it will help them achieve sustainable economic growth. The three sides should also address regional supply chain issues, advance the development of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, promote technology cooperation, as well as strengthen economic cooperation with the Global South, including Russia and Eurasian countries.

They also need to establish a mutually complementary industrial division of labor based on their respective strength, and build a profit-sharing mutual cooperation structure and a rules-based competition framework.

Moreover, China-US competition in industry and advanced technology has intensified. So China, Japan and the ROK should reorganize the regional advanced industry value chains and supply chains, leveraging their respective strength to deepen economic and technological cooperation, especially in the field of advanced technology, including AI, semiconductors and robots, and expand their consumer markets.

In the emerging multilateral world order, China, Japan and the ROK should make efforts to reform the global governance system and resolve various non-economic, including political and diplomatic, issues that hinder economic and technological cooperation. The three sides should also make joint efforts to promote peace and stability in the region by establishing a multilateral political-economic cooperation platform based on the principles of the emerging multilateral world order.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

If you have a specific expertise, or would like to share your thought about our stories, then send us your writings at opinion@chinadaily.com.cn, and comment@chinadaily.com.cn.

The upcoming Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2025 is scheduled to take place from March 25 to 28 in Boao, Hainan province. Themed "Asia in the Changing World: Towards a Shared Future", this year's conference will concentrate on development, fostering dialogue, exploring innovative formats and valuing tangible outcomes. The primary goal is to advance international development and cooperation.

Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in Hainan launched eight cutting-edge international medical tourism products on Sunday, targeting global visitors and showcasing the island province's rich natural and touristic resources.

The initiative integrates exclusive features such as precision health check-ups, expert treatments and traditional Chinese medicine therapies within the pilot zone, aiming to provide top-tier personalized medical tourism services of international standards to a wide overseas consumer base.

The first Indonesian tourist group arrived on Dec 23 to experience the full process of international medical tourism in Lecheng, undergoing a series of health examinations and recuperative experiences.

Starting from Saturday, over 60 representatives from medical and tourism institutions and businesses from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Russia, as well as the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, were invited by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports of Hainan Province for a four-day visit and research trip in Lecheng and across Hainan province.

"Hainan boasts exceptional ecological surroundings, free trade port policy advantages and a diverse array of impressive tourism products and cultural offerings. Coupled with Boao Lecheng's unique incentives, concentration of medical institutions and specialized healthcare services, the region presents greater potential for the development of international medical tourism," said Sian Teong Chein, vice-president of the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce. He expressed strong optimism regarding the growth prospects of the Hainan medical tourism market and anticipates engaging in extensive collaboration with the pilot zone.

"This event leverages the advantages of the preferential policies of the Hainan Free Trade Port and the medical policies of the Boao Lecheng pilot zone, further enriching specific measures within the Hainan tourism consumption scene. This move is beneficial for promoting the integrated development of the medical, health and tourism industries," said Liu Cheng, deputy director of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports of Hainan Province.

"Hainan will continue to develop premium medical tourism products to promote the development of international medical tourism projects," Liu said.

During the event, Lecheng's integrated medical and tourism marketing alliance signed agreements with multiple enterprises. Hainan Boao Lecheng Culture Industry Development Co reached a strategic cooperation agreement with representatives of foreign travel agencies to collaborate on enhancing the quality of medical tourism products and services.

The Boao Lecheng pilot zone is China's first and only special medical zone. The zone has introduced over 450 types of innovative pharmaceuticals and medical devices from foreign markets that are yet to be listed in China.

With 36 operational medical institutions, Chinese patients can access cutting-edge international therapies in Lecheng without traveling abroad. The pilot zone continues to advance integrated urban-industrial development, focusing on creating multilevel, multi-format medical tourism products to enhance the reception capacity for international medical tourism, said Jia Ning, director of the pilot zone's administration.

Jia said that in recent years, the pilot zone has emerged as a standout attraction within the Hainan Free Trade Port and gradually become a leading force in Asian medical tourism, attracting overseas medical consumption and evolving into a crucial intersection point for domestic and international dual circulation. In 2024, Lecheng welcomed a total of 413,700 medical tourism visitors throughout the year, marking a 36.76 percent year-on-year increase.

The Boao Forum for Asia will hold its annual conference from March 25 to 28 in Hainan province, said Zhang Jun, secretary general of the BFA, at a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

The theme of the Boao Forum for Asia's annual conference this year is "Asia in the Changing World: Towards a Shared Future," which is aimed at upholding multilateralism, fostering openness and development and jointly tackling global challenges, Zhang said.

Asia needs to work with the international community in strengthening solidarity and cooperation while addressing challenges together. The BFA will shoulder greater responsibility, as a high-end dialogue platform dedicated to promoting development and cooperation, Zhang added.

Zhang said there are four distinctive features of the annual conference, including the focus on development, emphasis on communication, innovation in meeting formats and the emphasis on effectiveness.

Hainan will make efforts to enhance the convenience, greenness and richness of the conference, said Bateer, vice-governor of the province, where the annual conference will be held.

Tan Guoling contributed to this story.

BEIJING -- China's top market regulator announced on Monday that it had greenlit new rules allowing temporary imports of specialized medical foods and health supplements in the Hainan Free Trade Port.

The State Administration for Market Regulation has approved provisional regulations permitting Hainan's Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone to import limited quantities of specialized medical foods and dietary supplements that are legally marketed overseas but not yet approved in the Chinese mainland.

This move aims to support Hainan's comprehensive reform and opening-up strategy while positioning the island as a pioneer in international medical tourism, said the market regulator.

Under the new rules, designated medical institutions within the pilot zone can now import small quantities of specialized formula foods for rare diseases, specific full-nutrition medical foods and appropriate amounts of health supplements.

This initiative is expected to address the clinical nutritional needs of patients with rare and specific diseases while also meeting broader public health demands. The policy is also designed to encourage companies to intensify their research and development efforts in these specialized food categories, the regulator said.

This regulatory relaxation aligns with China's broader efforts to transform Hainan into a world-class free trade port and underscores the government's commitment to healthcare innovation and reform.

Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, established in 2013, was granted special policies enabling eligible pharmaceuticals and medical devices licensed abroad yet domestically unavailable to be applied for patients through streamlined procedures.

Building on previous supportive policies, China announced in September that it would apply exemptions on import tariffs and value-added tax for eligible drugs and medical devices in the Lecheng pilot zone before 2025.

While introducing more world-class medical resources to China, the pilot zone is also reaching out to a growing number of clients overseas, especially from Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia.

The pilot zone is becoming a burgeoning international medical tourism destination, buoyed by China's facilitation measures, including unilateral visa exemptions for more countries, aimed at attracting international visitors in the post-pandemic era.

In 2023, it received 302,500 medical tourists, up 60.05 percent year-on-year. This year, it received over 320,000 medical tourists during the January-October period, marking a 37 percent year-on-year increase.

The 5th New Power System International Forum and the 20th China Southern Power Grid International Science and Technology Forum kicked off on Monday in Boao, Hainan province.

Themed "Building the new power system faster to serve new quality productive force development", the event has attracted energy and power regulatory authorities, businesses, industry associations, and academic experts from both domestic and international sectors. Participants convened to delve into the developmental trajectory of new power systems, chart blueprints for constructing innovative energy systems, and foster collaboration on the future landscape of global energy and power cooperation.

Li Licheng, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the honorary chairman of the CSG Expert Committee, underscored the pivotal role of the new grid system as the linchpin of a contemporary power system and an inventive energy framework. At the heart of this transformative energy shift lies the advancement of renewable sources, with their integration and utilization contingent upon the progress in new grid infrastructure.

In China, about 95 percent of non-fossil energy sources are converted into electricity for practical use. Statistics from the China Southern Power Grid show that non-fossil energy constitutes 63 percent of installed capacity and 55 percent of electricity generation in the southern region. Looking ahead to 2030, the company aims to facilitate the installation of over 400 million kilowatts of new energy in the five southern provinces.

A significant upcoming endeavor, the Xizang-Guangdong High-Voltage Direct Current Transmission Project, carries substantial implications for the advancement of hydropower in Xizang and the transmission of clean energy. Once initiated, this ±800 kilovolt ultra-high-voltage DC transmission project will enable the sustained transmission of clean energy from western regions to key load centers like the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Hainan Free Trade Port, said CSG Chairman Meng Zhenping.

Zheng Waisheng, general manager of the strategic planning department at CSG and board chairman of CSG Electric Power Research Institute, unveiled plans to establish 35 demonstration zones tailored for new power systems across seven major scenarios, with a keen focus on the large-scale integration of new energy sources. By year-end, these zones will undergo comprehensive evaluation and the selection of 15 cutting-edge technologies and business models for further promotion. "The company is committed to accelerating the development of experimental fields to trial new technologies, equipment, and models for new power systems, with the goal of transforming Yunnan and Hainan into provincial demonstration areas for new power systems by 2035," he added.

Drawing from the example of Boao's Dongyu Island, permanent venue of the Boao Forum for Asia, the island has made significant strides in achieving green energy supply and full electrification of energy consumption. Carbon emissions have dwindled by 97 percent compared to 2019, edging closer to zero carbon emissions, according to Hainan Power Grid Co. By 2035, Hainan province is expected to emerge as a fully-fledged province showcasing new power systems, boasting clean energy generation capacity and electricity share surpassing 90 percent.

China's commitment to higher-level opening-up is strengthening fair competition in the global market, and its push to establish a high-standard socialist market economy is bringing much-needed stability and certainty amid the challenges facing the global economy, experts said.

The Chinese and foreign experts made the remarks during the 90th International Forum on China Reform in Haikou, Hainan province, which was held by the China Institute for Reform and Development and China Daily. The two-day event concluded on Sunday.

Chi Fulin, president of the China Institute for Reform and Development, said that China's economic growth potential is projected to boost the formation of a new pattern of economic growth in Asia, and Asia's role and advantages in promoting free trade and global economic growth will become even more pronounced.

"This is fueled by favorable cooperation mechanisms such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a free trade agreement that has created the world's largest trading group, and the free trade agreement 3.0 version between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations," he said.

Qu Yingpu, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, said via video link at the forum that Hainan serves as China's gateway from land to sea and as a new highland of free trade. The building of the Hainan Free Trade Port is progressing steadily, he noted, and it is expected to further expand the advantages of China's opening-up to the outside world.

The development of the Hainan FTP has provided policy support and faster channels for closer economic and trade exchanges between the province and ASEAN member states.

In the first three quarters of this year, the import and export value of trade in goods between Hainan and ASEAN member states reached a record high of 43.49 billion yuan ($6.1 billion), up 70 percent year-on-year. The trade value has already surpassed the figure for the entirety of last year, according to data from Haikou Customs.

Speaking at the Haikou forum, Zhang Jun, secretary-general of the Boao Forum for Asia, said that sticking to economic globalization and building a higher level of an open world economy is not a matter of choice, but a necessary path to achieve win-win and sustainable development.

Ong Tee Keat, president of the Belt and Road Initiative Caucus for Asia Pacific in Malaysia, said at the forum that what China's trading partners value the most is the openness of the Chinese market and the peace and stability dividends that are brought by regional development.

Pascal Lamy, former director-general of the World Trade Organization, told the forum that trade opening is the way to go, and it has to be done in a way that takes into account the specific challenges of developing countries.

He said via video link that the multilateral, rule-based trading system is under stress with growing geopolitical tensions, and this is a very serious matter, adding that the trade measures that have been taken by some industrialized countries are not WTO-compliant.

"Fairness has to remain the main principle, taking into account the fact that we have different capacities and different comparative advantages," Lamy said.

China is strengthening policy support to bolster foreign trade and investment, and the China International Import Expo will be held for the seventh consecutive year, from Tuesday to Nov 10, with representatives of global companies gathering in Shanghai.

Express service provider FedEx from the United States, a participant in the import expo this year, said China's commitment to continue opening-up and its efforts to build a modern industrial system will further facilitate global trade.

The company announced in late October a major upgrade of its international express and cargo hub at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The upgrade will transform the facility into an intercontinental transit hub, said Poh-Yian Koh, senior vice-president of FedEx Express and president of FedEx China.