Hainan FTP eyes greater opening-up

Policy incentive

An Airbus A320 aircraft from Cambodia landed at Haikou Meilan International Airport on Jan 12, becoming the first airplane from overseas to use the Hainan FTP's aircraft maintenance services.

Those maintenance services have been offered a significant boost from the blueprint issued by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council in June, which enabled imports of aircraft parts at zero tariffs.

In Haikou, construction is continuing to build the second-largest center for aircraft maintenance in China, which is expected to generate a turnover of 2 billion yuan ($305 million) annually upon its completion.

Wang Haiye, a manager with HNA Infrastructure, the provider of the maintenance services, said the policy incentives from the FTP have significantly cut costs for the company and improved its competitiveness in services.

She added that the company is planning to bring in another 2,000 professionals, on top of the current staff of 1,000, to shore up its portfolio in aircraft maintenance services.

Shi Zongwei, head of Haikou Customs, said while the implementation of islandwide customs clearance operations in 2025－a key measure laid out in the blueprint in June－has posed new challenges to regulatory work, it has also presented opportunities for the authority to innovate in its oversight mechanism.

As part of the trade facilitation measures, the authority has cut the time required for customs clearance by 56 percent for imported products and 98 percent for exported products, he said.

The FTP's foreign trade in goods grew by 3 percent year-on-year, which is higher than the national average of 1.9 percent, to 93.3 billion yuan last year.

Under the impetus from policy incentives, Hainan's economy led the national growth rankings last year, with the province's GDP expanding by 3.5 percent year-on-year in 2020. The services sector, which grew by 5.7 percent year-on-year, has become a highlight, contributing 95.8 percent of the overall economic growth, according to the provincial bureau of statistics.