Beijing - Chinese  President Hu Jintao on Saturday opened an annual Asian economic forum with a focus on sustainable development and the environment.

Hu delivered the opening speech to the Bo'ao forum, which this year has the theme "Green Asia, moving towards win-win through change."

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Raiapaksa, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt were among the 1,700 delegates at the forum in China's southern island resort of Hainan.

The delegates planned to discuss topics including public-private partnerships in the green energy sector, sustainable growth and development in the telecommunications industry, and financial reform in Asia.

In his speech, Hu highlighted China's rapid development in the 30 years since the ruling Communist Party launched economic reforms.

"China has successfully made the historic transition from a highly centralized planned economy to a robust socialist market economy and from a closed and semi-closed country to a country that is wide open to the outside world," state media quoted Hu as saying.

More talks on Sunday were scheduled to cover climate change, the future of the internet and competition in the global marketplace, the organizers said.

The Bo'ao forum has been held annually in Hainan since 2002. Its founders hope it will evolve into an Asian version of the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.