President Xi Jinping recently underscored the critical importance of upholding the highest global standards in developing the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), defining the massive undertaking as central to China’s long-term strategy of deepening reform and expanding openness in the contemporary era. Speaking in Sanya following a progress briefing, Xi, who also serves as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, championed the FTP as a flagship policy positioned to anchor the nation’s vision for an open global economy.
The directive focuses on accelerating institutional rollout and ensuring that the island province transforms into a pivotal gateway for international economic integration.
Landmark Customs Adjustments Set for December
A key upcoming milestone highlighted by President Xi is the scheduled commencement of island-wide special customs arrangements on December 18. This legislative and logistical shift is deemed a landmark step necessary for advancing high-standard opening and streamlining global commerce flowing through the region.
To achieve this transformational goal, Xi demanded the rigorous execution of both the foundational Master Plan and the specific provisions outlined in the Hainan Free Trade Port Law. This includes the phased establishment of institutional and policy frameworks that align with high-level free trade port operational standards globally.
Core Directives for FTP Development:
- Trade and Investment Facilitation: Steadily expanding institutional opening and drastically easing regulatory burdens on both trade and investment activities.
- Flow of Production Factors: Smoothing the cross-border movement of essential factors of production, including capital, technology, and labor.
- Governance Reform: Sustaining administrative restructuring and cultivating a world-class business environment characterized by market orientation, legal transparency, and international standards.
Xi also stressed the necessity of enacting more open policies regarding talent acquisition, ensuring the FTP can attract and retain top-tier global professionals required for its high-quality growth.
Strategic Role in China’s Development Paradigm
The high-standard construction of the FTP is explicitly intended to underpin Hainan’s own sustainable, high-quality economic growth while simultaneously contributing to China’s broader national development blueprint.
President Xi urged Hainan to focus its efforts across four strategic roles that leverage its unique position and assets:
- Comprehensive Reform Pilot Zone: Serving as a testing ground for innovative governance and economic reforms.
- National Testbed for Ecology: Prioritizing high-quality development of the national ecological conservation pilot zone, given the island’s unique biodiversity.
- International Hub: Establishing the island as a premier international tourism and consumption destination.
- National Service Platform: Functioning as a high-level service platform supporting major national strategies, such as promoting equitable public welfare and advancing common prosperity.
To support these roles, the province must accelerate the creation of a modern industrial system that capitalizes on local strengths, upgrades leading sectors, and drives the deeper fusion of technological and industrial innovation to cultivate new-quality productive forces. This concept emphasizes innovation-driven, high-value-added sectors rather than relying on traditional large-scale manufacturing models.
Deepening Regional and Global Integration
The success of the Hainan FTP is contingent upon its ability to integrate effectively with both domestic economic powerhouses and global initiatives. Xi called for tighter coordination with regional hubs such as the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, and stronger collaboration with eastern regions like the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Yangtze Economic Belt.
Furthermore, Hainan is positioned to deepen its crucial role within the broader framework of the Belt and Road Initiative cooperation, serving as a maritime and commercial link between China and Southeast Asia. By adhering to the most stringent international standards for trade, investment, and environmental governance, the Hainan FTP aims not only to bolster its regional economy but also to solidify China’s commitment to an increasingly open world economy.