China News Service, Haikou, October 18 (Reporter Wang Xiaobin) "Measuring the effectiveness of the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port depends not only on the number of policies, trade scale and enterprise increase, but also on the sense of corporate gain, industrial agglomeration, portal radiation and institutional innovation; it depends on Hainan's own changes, but also on Hainan's experience in exploring high-level opening up for the country." Sun Jing, an assistant researcher at the Research Office of the Ministry of Commerce Research Institute, said.
On October 18, the launch meeting and briefing meeting of the 2026 "Vibrant China Research Tour" Hainan-themed interview event was held in Haikou. Sun Jing came to the meeting to make the above remarks.
Currently, the century-old changes in the world are accelerating, unilateralism and trade protectionism are on the rise, and the international economic and trade order is facing severe challenges. Sun Jing believes that promoting the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port with high standards is an important measure for China to cope with the "major changes unseen in a century" and promote the construction of an open world economy. It conveys to the world China's determination and confidence in continuing to promote high-level opening up.
In recent years, Hainan's free trade port policy and system system, which is characterized by "zero tariffs, low tax rates, simplified tax system" and "five freedoms and convenience, and one safe and orderly flow", has been further improved. The release of policy dividends has been accelerated, the flow of factors is convenient and efficient, and the experience of system integration and innovation has become increasingly rich. It is becoming a new frontier for China's opening up to the outside world.
How to measure the effectiveness of Hainan Free Trade Port construction? Sun Jing believes that we can focus on the “four accounts”.
The first is the "cost account" of enterprise development, which looks at the actual results of converting policy dividends into business convenience. Hainan's zero-tariff, low-tax, and tariff-free processing value-added policies have created favorable conditions for enterprises to reduce production and operation costs and attract the agglomeration of domestic and foreign factors.
According to official disclosures, since the customs closure, Hainan’s eight ports open to the outside world have operated efficiently, and the average customs clearance time for imported goods has been greatly reduced. The 10 “second-tier ports” are operating well, and the “second-tier” goods declaration items for leaving the island have been simplified by more than 60%; the customs smart supervision platform, Hainan’s international trade “single window” and other information The information system is interconnected with the port operation system and operates smoothly; the proportion of "zero-tariff" commodity tax items has increased from 21% to 74%, and the number of commodity types has reached more than 6,600. The "zero-tariff" policy for imported goods consumed by island residents has been implemented, and the tariff-free policy for processing value-added domestic sales has further expanded the scope of benefits.
The second is the "value-added account" of industrial development, which looks at the actual progress of converting open traffic into industrial increments. Sun Jing suggested that we should observe the role of enterprises in driving upstream and downstream supporting facilities, scientific research institutions and professional talents after their establishment, and pay attention to the growth process of enterprises from registration to expansion of investment, from a single project to the formation of an industrial chain, and to see how Hainan can transform resource endowments and policy advantages into technological advantages, industrial advantages and long-term competitiveness.
According to statistics, from the start of the customs closure to September 30, 2026, Hainan's new enterprises, new foreign-invested enterprises, and new foreign trade registered enterprises increased by 71.1%, 31.1%, and 47.4% respectively year-on-year. The vitality of business entities continued to burst; the added value of the four leading industries of tourism, modern service industry, high-tech industry, and tropical high-efficiency agriculture accounted for more than 70% of the province's GDP.
Currently, 22 foreign-funded companies among the world's top 500 companies have settled in Hainan, and 139 headquarters companies have settled in Hainan; the total scale of EF account business exceeds 910 billion yuan.
The third is the "linked account" of open development, which looks at the actual results of transforming location advantages into domestic and international market linking capabilities. Hainan is backed by a large-scale domestic market and faces Southeast Asia. It has unique geographical conditions connecting the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and shoulders the important task of building a strategic intersection of domestic and international dual circulation.
Sun Jing emphasized that we can pay attention to the construction results of Hainan's international shipping, aviation and logistics network, as well as the economic and trade linkage between Hainan and Southeast Asia, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the domestic industrial hinterland. In particular, with the opening of the Pinglu Canal and the "physical channel + policy advantages", the coordinated connection between Yangpu Port and the New Western Land-Sea Corridor will become even closer.
In Hainan, "China Yangpu Port" has more than 100 registered ships, and the total tonnage of international sailing ships ranks second in the country; the country's first seventh-freedom passenger route has been successfully opened and is operating on a regular basis.
The fourth is the "long-term account" of institutional innovation, which examines the long-term value of the first trial into institutional results. Hainan, as the country's largest experimental field for reform and opening up, explores paths for high-level opening up across the country. The exploration of opening up in the fields of medical care, education, digital economy and other fields provides an important window for observing Hainan's institutional innovation.
Sun Jing said that the Hainan Free Trade Port's policy experience on service trade access, cross-border data flow and other related policies are of reference value for the country's high-level opening up.
