This year’s China Development Forum will open on March 18 and run through March 20. It’s the first annual high-level international conference in the country following the Two Sessions.

The organizer, the Development Research Center of the State Council, says the theme is “China and the World: Economic Transformation through Structural Reforms”. Topics of discussion include how to deepen China’s supply-side reform, China-US economic relations, and cross-border capital flows. The forum will hold 42 discussions.

Some 300 participants are expected, among them about 40 Fortune 500 executives. About 60 Chinese ministerial-level officials will attend, including the ministers of Foreign Affairs, Commerce, and Environmental Protection. The forum serves as a platform for sharing solutions for challenges facing China, and for getting up-to-date information about the Chinese market and government policies.

This forum is held by the Development Research Center of the State Council, which is a think-tank that directly serves the central government and helps it make decisions for economic and social development.

The Deputy Director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, Zhang Laiming, said that the experts of the forum follow domestic and international economic events closely, and keep close communication with world business and academic circles; because of the close relationship with the Chinese government and the international community, the forum’s topics keep up with the times and reflect the government’s focus points.