¡¡¡¡SHANGHAI, May 8 (Xinhuanet) -- The serial activities of the 35th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) kicked off Wednesday morning in Shanghai, China's largest industrial and commercial city.

¡¡¡¡Major activities held Wednesday included the Open Forum on Cooperation Between ADB and NGOs (Non-government Organizations), the Seminar on Sequencing of Financial Liberalization and RegionalTrade Implications of China, and a forum on cooperative projects in infrastructure between China and the United States.

¡¡¡¡This is the second time for China to host an ADB annual meeting.The country hosted the regional bank's 1989 annual meeting in Beijing.

¡¡¡¡Sources with ADB and China's Ministry of Finance have describedthis year's gathering as the largest and highest-level of ADB annual meetings.

¡¡¡¡More than 90 activities, such as forums, seminars and multilateral talks, are scheduled for May 8-12, and some 3,300 participants, including senior officials from the 60 ADB members, will attend.

¡¡¡¡The 35th annual meeting, the main event, is set for May 10-12, with major topics centering on such areas as economic situation inthe Asia-Pacific region, aid to the reconstruction of Afghanistan and continued efforts for poverty alleviation.

¡¡¡¡On May 9, a special seminar named "PRC (People's Republic of China) Day" will be staged for an in-depth discussion on the heated topic of China's present economic and social development. Enditem