By Li Anqi, Dong Zeyang, People’s Daily
Spring has breathed new life into south China’s Hainan province, where the Yangpu international container terminal is undergoing rapid expansion – a vital infrastructure project set to support independent customs operation of the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP).
“Our task is to turn this narrow channel into a maritime expressway,” said project manager Zhu Jun. Once completed, the terminal will have the capacity to handle 3.6 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually, with docking facilities capable of accommodating 200,000-tonne container vessels.
The Hainan FTP has been a focal point of China’snational strategy, highlightedin the country’sgovernment work report for seven consecutive years.Liu Xiaoming, governor of Hainan, stressed the province’s commitment to implementing independent customs operation by the end of 2025. The new framework promises to turn the island into a dynamic gateway – where goods become imports and exports the moment they enter or leave the island, catalyzing thefree movement of goods, capital, and talent between the free trade port and international markets.
Under the revamped system, goods shipped from Hainan to other parts of China will be subject to standard customs clearance and tariffs, while the island itself benefits from a lighter regulatory touch designed to facilitate trade and investment. This approach reflects a broader commitment to high-level openingup, moving the province closer to its goal of becoming a world-class free trade port.
Local business leaders have already begun reaping the rewards. Huang Haiwen, logistics director at Chia Tai (Hainan) Xinglong Coffee Industry Development Co., Ltd., noted that the recent designation of unbaked coffee as a zero-tariff raw and auxiliary material has yielded significant cost savings.
CP Group, among the first foreign companies to invest in China after the country adopted its reform and openingup policy in the 1970s, is equally buoyed by the new policies.”With these policies in place, we’re confident that our operations here will reach new heights,” said Xie Yi, senior vice-chairman of CP Group.
Hainan’s geographic position – nestled between the Pacific and Indian Oceans and at the crossroads of ASEAN and Chinese markets – further enhances its appeal. The port’s development fosters the cross-border flow of goods and improves global resource allocation, not only facilitating the entry of foreign-invested enterprises into China but also enabling Chinese companies to expand their global footprint.
The province’s growing reputation as a global trade hub has coincided with an influx of international visitors, spurred in part by relaxed visa policies. Tour guide Zhang Jinyi has seen the shift firsthand. “More and more international tourists are arriving,” Zhang said. “I’ve been receiving one tour group after another- it’s been a busy season.”
China has expanded visa-free entry to Hainan for nationals from 59 countries, introduced 144-hour visa-free visits for tour groups registered in Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, and extended the visa-free transit period for eligible travelers to 240 hours. The policies, aimed at making the island more accessible, have bolstered both tourism and cross-cultural exchanges.
The province’s duty-free shopping sector has also undergone significant changes. Over the past 14 years, Hainan has steadily raised its annual tax-free shopping quota from 5,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan (about $13,771) while expanding the range of duty-free goods from 18 to 45 categories.
Between April 2011 to March 16, 2025, Haikou Customs recorded more than 250 billion yuan in duty-free sales, with 45 million shoppers purchasing 318 million items – solidifying duty-free shopping as a major draw for international visitors.
Beyond the tangible gains in trade and tourism, Hainan is also emerging as a hub for cultural exchanges and high-end service development. The free trade port has hosted a range of international cultural events, including world tours by international artists and performances by the Philadelphia Orchestra, and its Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone attracts visitors from Spain, Uzbekistan, and other countries in search of advanced health management and anti-aging treatments. “The Hainan FTP should leverage its comparative advantages to further open up trade in services, foster high-end services, and position itself as a key hub for the opening up of China’s servicessector,”said Zhou Xiaochuan, vice chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia.”Beyond facilitating the free movement of goods, services, capital, and data, it has the potential to become a testing ground for pioneering regulatory and policy innovations.”
