BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhuanet) -- President Hu Jintao will attend the opening ceremony of the 2005 Fortune Global Forum and give a keynote speech, said Qian Xiaoqian, vice director of the State Council Information Office, here Tuesday at a press conference.

    The forum, to be held in Beijing from May 16 to 18 and with the theme of "China and the new Asian century," includes two roundtable meetings on sports and culture, said Robert Bierman, president of the Fortune Conference Division.

    More than 300 overseas participants will be present at the forum, including business leaders from around the world and corporations such as HSBC, General Motors, Samsung, Qualcomm, Disney, e-Bay and Infosys. 

    Rik Kirkland, managing editor of Fortune, said that the forum attendants will look in depth at what China and the new Asian Century mean to "the world of business and the businesses of the world."

    Topics such as "Understanding China's Capital Market," "Energy:Finding Fuel for Continued Economic Growth" and "Intellectual Property: More Turmoil or Mutual Understanding," will be covered at the three-day forum.

    Wang Hui, director of the Information Office of Beijing Municipal Government, said the preparation work is going on smoothly.

    This is the ninth global forum that Fortune has held and the third held in China. The previous two were held in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Enditem