The primary task of Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference (AC) 2021 is to help to reshape growth confidence, said the forum secretariat at a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

The year 2021 is the 20th anniversary of the forum and this year's AC will be held between April 18 to 21 in Boao in China's only tropical island Hainan. It will be the world's first large-scale on-site international conference in 2021, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Secretary-General Li Baodong.

More than 2,000 participants are expected at the conference, he added.

Li stressed that strengthening global governance is more important and urgent than ever, for global challenges have become more prominent, underscoring the theme of the AC: "A World in Change: Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Cooperation."

He noted that practicing multilateralism with a developmental perspective and strengthening global governance are necessary for the world to respond to the complex international environment and challenges.

The conference will include two new sections, "Explore China" and "BRI Cooperation," which focus on deepening understanding of China and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation, respectively. The two modules will cover China's new development pattern, development trend and its impact on the global economic recovery, opportunities and challenges in strengthening international cooperation and global governance.

The "dual circulation," financial openness, carbon neutrality and COVID-19 vaccine are among the buzzwords of this year's conference, according to Li.