"Openness is the lifeblood of Hainan's free trade port. Hainan is the only free port with Chinese characteristics," the paper said in an editorial. "Hainan's wide-open doors [in 2023] will be even more open."
The paper noted that the process of lifting restrictions on the province's trade, economic and cultural interaction with the outside world "will be even more dynamic. "Hainan will make efforts to implement an openness policy and form an orderly system that will ensure the island's [high] competitiveness on a global scale," it stresses.
Expanding reach of friendly ties
The newspaper recalls that over the past year Hainan has continuously created new channels to strengthen international contacts, even in the face of pandemic and anti-COVID restrictions. The provincial administration has emphasized cooperation with foreign companies aimed at the development of strategic industries - tourism, modern services, advanced technology sector and advanced tropical agriculture. The authorities paid special attention to aerospace, maritime deep-sea and crop-growing international programs.
The forums and conferences held on the island in 2022 have played an important role in promoting cooperation with Hainan's foreign partners, as noted, in all of these areas, as well as in clean energy and medicine. In addition, there were numerous presentations that attracted the interest of high-tech countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan.
"The Hainan Free Trade Port is becoming a new window through which the whole world can better understand China," said Oliver Blum, CEO of the German Volkswagen Group, after a recent meeting with a Hainan government delegation. He hoped to strengthen mutually beneficial comprehensive cooperation with the province itself and the PRC as a whole.
Transforming the system
According to the publication, Hainan authorities have already adopted 15 packages of bills, including more than 130 important programs that have accelerated the transformation of the island into an offshore zone by 2025. In particular, the provincial administration has worked on a range of issues to improve the business environment, encourage diversified and multi-level industry development.
The newspaper notes that 11 innovative development zones have been created in Hainan in recent years, which in the long term will ensure intensive economic growth in the province. The regional government has also published over 180 documents regulating measures to improve competitiveness and strengthen the openness of the free trade port.
In addition, Hainan authorities are systematically eliminating foreign trade barriers. The list of goods that can be imported to the island without paying duties and other charges, or importing them at reduced preferential rates is gradually expanding. The competent authorities on an experimental basis introduce new mechanisms that contribute to the simplification of fiscal procedures. All this allows significantly reduce the costs of foreign trade companies.
Increasing openness
According to the authors of the newspaper, the trend towards greater international contacts in China has recently intensified. Hainan has intensified interaction with "all four corners of the globe," including Europe, Oceania and North America. It is a question of trade and economic cooperation, as well as projects in tourism and education, in the field of scientific technology and medicine, and in agriculture.
The publication recalls that even during the pandemic and strict anti-COVID measures, Hainan, continued to hold such major events as the Boao Forum for Asia (East Asian equivalent of the World Economic Forum in Davos - note TASS) with strict observance of all requirements to epidemic safety. This has allowed the province to play an increasingly important role in coordinating international efforts aimed at resolving problems of global significance.
In addition, over the past few years, Hainan has organized international consumer fairs on an all-China scale and held a number of other large-scale events. "In 2022, the province has optimized mechanisms for interaction with other countries and regions, becoming an even more significant force serving the interests of national diplomacy," the article stressed.
In April 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the establishment of an experimental free trade zone and port on Hainan. The goal of the program is to bring the island into the process of globalization and international labor distribution, and to lay a solid foundation for innovation. The local authorities are creating an attractive environment for investors and developing research and production infrastructure. According to the government plan, by 2025 the entrepreneurial environment in the province will reach cutting-edge levels according to national standards, and in 2050 the region will become a unique international cluster with an advanced economy, housing the campuses of leading universities, advanced laboratories and the headquarters of global corporations.
