By Xinhua writer Yan Hao

    HAIKOU, April 18 (Xinhua) - More than 800 worldwide celebrities have booked their flight tickets to Boao, a small town along waterside on China's tropical island of Hainan, for an annual conference of Davos-like Asian forum.

    From Friday to Sunday, luxurious hotels with tailor-made golf course, numerous cocktail  parties and banquets will keep them peaceful and exclusive from billions of Chinese outside the  town who struggle, yet still pin their living hope on the Boao Forum for Asia.

    Comprising many topics like current of international energy market, reform on China's banking and multinational merging, "A new opportunity for Asia" is a theme of this year's conference; however, a new opportunity for many Chinese is to find a job now.

    "It is quite tough for us to hunt a satisfactory job," said Tang Yan, a senior who will graduate this summer from Guangxi University in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

    "I'm wondering whether those officials and other VIPs have any suggestions or solutions to providing more employment opportunities," Tang said.

    Cutting-edge technologies that change almost every single day have been reducing labor amount for traditional manufacturing in many Asian countries where shrinking employment ratio is a hard nut to crack for the governments.

    In China, college students who used to be regarded as elite have joined the group of people that could easily encounter unemployment.

    A research report conducted by Asian Development Bank last month warned Asian policy-makers that although there would be a continuous economic growth for the next 25 years most of the poor on this planet will still live in Asia. This would not happen if the policy-makers pay as much attention to employment opportunities as they had done to economic growth, said the report.

    One of the topics for the conference concerns international energy market, in which energy shortage has been a bottleneck for Asian economic development. A slight fluctuating of international oil and natural gas prices could not only concern Asian countries' economic safety but also stimulate common consumers.

    Chinese people are getting increasingly sensitive to the up-climbing gas retail price when more and more Chinese families drive their cars to millions of gas stations throughout the country.

    Ms. Qin Yanqing, a director of community service center in Haikou of the island told Xinhua: "The oil and liquefied natural gas appreciate with so large markup in China that many residents here could hardly stand it."

    "What kind of things would they talk about in terms of the energy?" Qin asked, "Will they figure out some thing to relieve our energy burden?"

    Deng Zhichao is a native citizen of Haikou. Going abroad for travel almost every year, Deng complained that shuttling between Asian cities may be like visiting neighbors for those celebrities on the forum, but too inconvenient for common Chinese travelers.

    "Traveling between Asian cities is expensive yet," Deng said, "When could we travel freely in Asia just like people did in European countries? Will the officials on the forum discuss establishing common travel market in Asia?"

    "I know they will talk about China's banking, could those economists tell us more investing projects rather than deposit? And will incoming foreign banks provide better service to us?" Deng added.

    Yang Jinrui, manager of a magazine in Hainan and professor Wen Guofu of Guangxi University for Nationalities hope elites attending the Boao Forum for Asia pay more attention to some specific issues relating to local society and economy.

    "The forum has gained considerable worldwide reputation," Yang said, "I think it will be more attractive to Hainan or other Chinese if they discuss such practical issues as how to promote Hainan Island and attract more tangible investment."

    "Anyway the topics that will be concerned by the conference are all important, for instance, since many Asian countries suffered from real estate bubble and rocketing housing price has become a major blame of Chinese people, talking about China's real estate is very timely," professor Wen told Xinhua.

    "The question is whether will they approach to this topic with an angle that oriented to more common people's interests," he said.

    Moreover, the professor also hope the conference could also consider some issues about economy surrounding Beibu Bay, China's southwest gateway to the South China Sea.

    "I hope the conference would work out some constructive proposals on any possible cooperation between the countries in the area," the professor said. Enditem