Open gateway for commerce across oceans

In accordance with World Bank standards, Hainan has rolled out 69 measures to optimize the business standards, such as one-stop service network and streamlining reviews and approvals. It has also opened the one-stop window for international investment and trade, cutting the time of import and export customs clearance by more than half.

Specifically, the province has witnessed its foreign capital in actual use doubled for two consecutive years, with 444,000 new market entities, up 66 percent from April 13, 2018, when Xi delivered a speech at a gathering to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the founding of Hainan province and the Hainan Special Economic Zone.

According to the evaluation by the Office of the State Council's Inter-Ministerial Joint Conference on Pilot Free Trade Zones, Hainan has accomplished more than 97 percent of its tasks, fully ready for implementing the new free trade port plan.

Liu said Hainan welcomes enterprises and talents worldwide to invest and start businesses on the island.

"We will implement key policies such as preferential treatment for business and personal income tax, upgraded offshore duty-free shopping policy, and zero tariffs on imported goods.

"We'll significantly widen the market access, improve the free trade account system, facilitate cross-border trade, investment and capital flow, and implement more convenient entry and exit management policies. With the most preferential conditions and the best services, we will foster a world-class environment to enable business, governed by law, to lure global companies and talent to invest and start business in Hainan," Liu said.

Vice-Minister of Finance Zou Jiayi said goods outside the imported taxable commodities catalog will be exempted from import duties after the island-wide customs clearance operation in 2025.

She said Hainan free trade port will establish a zero-tariff negative list and three positive lists, with focus on supporting high-tech, ecological and environmental protection and specialty industries. More efforts will also be made to gradually shorten the negative list and expand positive lists in the future.

Wu Bing, co-founder and president of aviation engineering company Bartini Technology (Hainan) Co Ltd, said the preferential policies will help boost the future development of aircraft, especially in the fields of assembly, production, maintenance and training.

"The industrial format of Hainan, such as tourism and medical treatment, is very suitable for the development of small aircraft, especially passenger drones," Wu said. "We've got strong support from the Hainan government."

Wu said Hainan is very suitable for developing and test-launching new products, which makes it a perfect place for companies to use the island as a launchpad for updated products bound for other markets.

"The current policies, if implemented swiftly, carefully, and with focus on the right elements, will allow us to shift focus from the mainland back to Hainan," said Yuval Golan, CEO of consulting firm Unique 1 Asia Limited.

"As Hainan transforms itself into an international free trade port, a crucial focus should be integrating Chinese and international arts and culture.

"Hainan should become a hub for entertainment, experimental art, museums, and music festivals. The new policies provide direct, specific details on how to support those industries.

"For example, zero tariff and duties, reduced VAT, seed funding, and more. Such industries will create a supporting ecosystem for creativity, diversity, innovation tech, and booming tourism," Golan said.