From May 8 to 9, the 2026 RCEP Regional Development Media & Think Tank Forum, themed “Responding to Changes and Promoting Development Together,” was held in Haikou. The forum was hosted by China Daily, the China Institute for Reform and Development, and the China Oceanic Development Foundation. Wu Shicun, Chairman of the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance and Chairman of the Academic Committee of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, attended the forum and moderated the panel discussion titled “Hainan Free Trade Port: Building a Strategic Hub for RCEP Regional Economic and Trade Cooperation.”

Liu Xiaoming, Governor of the People’s Government of Hainan Province; Qu Yingpu, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of China Daily; and Lv Bin, Chairman of the China Oceanic Development Foundation, delivered opening remarks. Chi Fulin, President of the China Institute for Reform and Development, delivered a keynote address. Wang Bin, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee, attended the opening ceremony.

More than 400 government officials, media representatives, experts, and scholars from China, Indonesia, Cambodia, Brunei, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Laos, Singapore, Vietnam, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Australia, and international organizations attended the forum.

During the forum, Wu Shicun also gave interviews to the Voice of the South China Sea of China Media Group and reporters from China Daily on issues including the impact of the Strait of Hormuz crisis on security around the South China Sea, the South China Sea situation, the illegal “award” in the South China Sea arbitration, and the “revival” of Japanese militarism.