Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong met Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday afternoon (March 23).

Along with other members of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) board members, they discussed how the forum, which is now in its 15th year, could contribute to Asia's development.

This year's BFA theme is "Asia's New Future: New Dynamics, New Vision".

Mr Goh has taken part in the BFA for seven years, and is a member of the BFA Board of Directors.

On the sidelines of the forum, Mr Goh also met former Chinese Vice Premier and current BFA Vice Chairman Zeng Peiyan.

Mr Goh congratulated Mr Zeng on the relevance and timeliness of this year's theme and agreed that it would be useful to continue this year's theme at future BFA forums. The two leaders also affirmed excellent bilateral relations, and Mr Goh thanked Mr Zeng for his longstanding support for the development of Sino-Singapore relations.

Mr Goh is on a four-day visit, which began on Tuesday, to southern Chinese province Hainan for the annual BFA conference.

Since its formation in 2002, the China-led BFA has been billed as Asia's version of the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland and attracts a gathering of politicians and businessmen.

During his visit, Mr Goh also met Guangzhou Party Secretary Ren Xuefeng.

The leaders agreed that Singapore and Guangzhou could strengthen cooperation in areas such as education and research, citing the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City project, which is in its second phase.

The Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City project includes a joint research institute set up by the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), partnering South China University of Technology.