(Vibrant China Research) Hainan Free Trade Port injects "new vitality" into the high-quality development of the open economy

China News Service, Haikou, October 18 (Reporters: Wang Ziqian and Li Meng) "Hainan will continue to promote high-level opening up by building a free trade port with high standards, constantly polish the brand of 'investment free trade port', carefully cultivate iconic foreign investment projects, actively empower the construction of an international tourism consumption center, and continue to inject 'new vitality' into the high-quality development of the open economy." Zhang Yueqiang, deputy director of the Hainan Provincial Department of Commerce, said.

On October 18, the launch and briefing meeting of the "Vibrant China Research Tour" Hainan themed interview event was held in Haikou. Zhang Yueqiang came to the meeting to introduce the development of the business field since the customs closure of the Hainan Free Trade Port. Since the island-wide customs closure was launched on December 18, 2025, the Hainan Free Trade Port has been in operation for 10 months.

Policy dividends continue to be "released"

Since the closure of customs, policy dividends such as "zero tariffs" and tariff-free processing of value-added products in the Hainan Free Trade Port have continued to be released. As of the end of September 2026, the value of imported goods under the "zero tariff" policy was 4.29 billion yuan, and the tax exemption was 720 million yuan, which has brought tangible benefits to market entities; the domestic sales of goods processed by companies registered for the value-added tariff-free policy were 910 million yuan, and 81 enterprises enjoyed the benefits. , 22 more companies than before the customs closure, with benefit entities covering 14 cities and counties; the first business of the tariff-free processing value-added policy for special vehicles has been implemented, and application scenarios such as the application of "zero-tariff" materials and parts, the accumulation of bonded value-added, and the inclusion of Hainan's self-produced goods in the scope of value-added have been implemented.

In terms of prohibited and restricted list policies, eight projects including CRRC International have obtained bonded maintenance qualifications for implementing exceptions to the prohibited and restricted lists, and have achieved the "first" business implementation of the relaxation of trade management and the cancellation of import licenses.

The customs closure has also led to the introduction of a new round of policies for duty-free consumption in Hainan and the release of dividends. Among them, since the optimization of the offshore duty-free policy, it has directly driven the amount of duty-free shopping to 27.54 billion yuan, the number of shopping items to 22.75 million items, and the number of shoppers to 4.112 million, a year-on-year increase of 15%, 4.4% and 12.3% respectively; daily consumer goods have "zero customs clearance" After the "tax" policy was implemented at the beginning of this year, 11 stores were opened in Haikou, Sanya, Danzhou and other places, selling products with 108 tax numbers. The supply of goods continued to be enriched, and the supply chain system was basically established, benefiting 91,000 duty-free shoppers, and the residents of the island can enjoy the benefits.

Open economy steadily “improving quality”

Taking the island-wide customs closure as an opportunity, Hainan Free Trade Port is accelerating to become an important gateway leading China's opening up to the outside world in the new era and a new highland for open economy.

Statistics from the Hainan Provincial Department of Commerce show that in the first nine months of this year, the province's total import and export of goods was 285.44 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 49.8%; the total import and export of services was 56.95 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.7%. The external service capacity has increased significantly. The export of travel services, telecommunications computers and information services, and maintenance and repair services increased by 31.9%, 22.4%, and 49.8% respectively year-on-year.

Zhang Yueqiang said that the implementation of the customs closure trade facilitation policy has taken effect, and the bonded aviation fuel refilling policy for internal flights has been successfully implemented. The growth momentum is shifting from traditional primary products to high value-added manufactured products.

In terms of port management, Hainan's eight ports open to the outside world are operating efficiently, and the 10 "second-tier ports" are operating well; the average customs clearance time for imported goods has been reduced by 20%, the declaration items for "second-tier" goods leaving the island have been simplified by more than 60%, and low-risk goods have been "released in seconds."

According to statistics, from the launch of the island-wide customs sealing to the end of September 2026, Hainan has opened its ports to the outside world for 16,000 aircraft and 4,000 inbound and outbound ships, a year-on-year increase of 23% and 9% respectively; the "second-tier ports" have seen 56.776 million passengers entering and leaving the island, 96,000 ships, 249,000 flights, and 4.75 million vehicles.

Global resources are accelerating the “gathering”

"The island-wide customs closure operation has brought strategic opportunities for Hainan to attract global investment, gather global high-quality factor resources, and smooth domestic and international dual circulation." Zhang Yueqiang said.

Numbers are the best explanation. In the first eight months of this year, Hainan Province saw 1,827 new foreign-invested enterprises, a year-on-year increase of 40.9%. A number of iconic foreign-invested projects such as Siemens Energy, Boao Fulong Hospital, and Swire Coca-Cola Green Factory have been launched. Hainan is becoming a preferred hotspot for multinational companies to deploy in China and delve into the Asia-Pacific.

While "bringing in", Hainan has accelerated the construction of a "1+1+N" free trade port comprehensive overseas service network, launched an online comprehensive overseas service platform, established a collaborative development alliance for foreign investment cooperation, and brought together 46 professional service resources.

Since the beginning of this year, Hainan has held three country-specific investment matchmaking conferences to provide one-stop services for overseas companies. In the first eight months, Hainan had 228 new companies registering foreign investment, a year-on-year increase of 5.6%. The pace of serving domestic enterprises in "going global" has become more steady and the service guarantee has become more powerful.