China plans to build Hainan(海南） into pilot free trade zone

[Adam WANG SHANGHAI MEGA]

China plans to build Hainan into pilot free trade zone
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-13 20:48:46|Editor: Lu Hui

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivers a speech at a gathering celebrating the 30th anniversary of the founding of Hainan Province and the Hainan Special Economic Zone in south China's Hainan Province, April 13, 2018. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

HAIKOU, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping announced Friday a decision to build the whole island of Hainan into a pilot free trade zone.

The Communist Party of China Central Committee has decided to support Hainan in building the whole island into a pilot free trade zone, gradually exploring and steadily promoting the establishment of a free trade port with Chinese characteristics, and promulgating policies and institutional systems for the free trade port step by step and in stages, Xi said at a gathering celebrating the 30th anniversary of the founding of Hainan Province and the Hainan Special Economic Zone.

Xi urged the province to give priority to opening up, implement a more proactive opening-up strategy, speed up the establishment of a new system for open economy, and promote the formation of a new pattern of opening up in an all-round way.

Related:

Xi underscores reform, opening-up, environmental protection in Hainan

CPC theory proved right by success of Hainan special economic zone: Xi

Xi urges special economic zones to serve as window on reform, opening-up

Hainan to pilot reform of int'l talent management: Xi

China welcomes investors worldwide to participate in building Hainan free trade port

Offshore duty-free shopping policy to cover all outbound tourists in Hainan

KEY WORDS:Hainan

 

[Huan]

With this plan, how will Hainan compare to Shanghai and Hong Kong by 2030 on China's east coast? And Hainan vs Taiwan? Will Hainan's GDP surpass Taiwan inevitably?

 

[cirr]

China aims for mature free trade port system in Hainan by 2035

2018-04-15 09:31

Xinhua Editor: Feng Shuang

China is aiming to make the free trade port system and operational mode of Hainan "more mature" by 2035, according to a document unveiled Saturday.

A free trade port system will be "basically established" in Hainan by 2025, according to the guidelines on supporting Hainan's efforts to deepen reform and opening up jointly released by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council.

China will also set up an investment fund to support Hainan's development of a free trade port.

A free trade port is the world's most open form of economic zone, which has brought prosperity to places like Singapore and Hong Kong thanks to its broad-based preferential policies on trade and investment.

Chinese President Xi Jinping Friday announced a decision by the CPC Central Committee to support building Hainan into a pilot free trade zone and gradually and steadily into a free trade port with Chinese characteristics.

China welcomes investors worldwide to invest and start business in Hainan and participate in the building of a free trade port there, Xi said at a celebration marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Hainan Province and the Hainan Special Economic Zone.

China will support the "all-round participation" of foreign firms in the development of the Hainan free trade port, and multinational companies are encouraged to set up international and regional headquarters there, according to the document.

 

[cirr]

Tropical province has global appeal

2018-04-14 14:31 China Daily Editor: Li Yahui

Figures speak for the tremendous growth of tourism in Hainan, the country's youngest province, which celebrated its 30th birthday on Friday.

In 1988, when Hainan became a province, it received 1.18 million tourists. In 2011, the first year it was targeted by the State as an international tourist destination, more than 30 million set foot on the tropical island and the figure more than doubled to over 67 million last year.

A pleasant climate, blue seas, golden beaches and lush coconut trees－the traditional landscape attractions of tropical Hainan－are being further brightened by continuous cultivation and introduction of world-class projects and services that match international standards and meet people's dreams for happy vacations.

Sanya Atlantis, the third of its kind globally after the Atlantis resorts in Dubai and the Bahamas, is welcoming its first guests late this month, according to its investor, Fosun Group. It is the latest international hospitality brand that has settled in Hainan, which boasts the largest number of world-class hotels in China.

The landmark one-stop resort complex, built at a cost of 11 billion yuan ($1.75 billion), will offer ample leisure and dining experiences. It is located at Haitang Bay, a world-class resort area in northeastern Sanya where beautiful beaches stretch for more than 10 kilometers.

A show based on the film Avatar and produced by Cirque du Soleil, Toruk: The First Flight, is being staged in Sanya until May 1. The three-month show expects total attendance of 300,000.

Last week, the luxury cruise ship MS Europa 2 made a call to the Phoenix Island cruise ship port in Sanya, one of the largest in Asia, which is completing construction of two very large berths, each with a 225,000-ton capacity.

The Europa 2 is one of the 319 cruise ships that have called at Hainan. It brought in more than 450 European tourists to enjoy Hainan's tropical landscapes, local cuisines and the culture of the ethnic Li people, the original residents of the island.

"In addition to bringing in top-notch cultural and entertainment shows and sports events, the city, popularly dubbed the oriental Hawaii, is also improving its international recognition by introducing more international brands," said Fan Mu, director of the Sanya Tourism Development Commission.

As China's largest special economic zone, the only provincial-level international tourism island and a pivotal point on the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Hainan also boasts many of the country's best environmental conditions.

Hainan is attracting more investment from overseas to further develop the huge potential of its tourism sector, which contributed 75 percent of the total revenue of its service industry last year.

"Hainan is determined to continue to upgrade tourism and the supply-side reform of the industry. We will invest 839.3 billion yuan during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20)," said Sun Ying, director of the Hainan Provincial Tourism Development Commission.

She said priorities will be developing large theme park projects, rainforest theme parks, wetland national parks, new tourism products, cruise tours and island tourist ring roads.

Also emphasized is greater international tourism marketing, supported by strong incentives for airlines and cruise liners to encourage inbound tourism.

Hainan will make full use of the preferential policies granted by the State－including the offshore duty-free policy, opening of air traffic, visa-free entry and offshore finance－to raise the service sector's level and build the province into a world-class international tourist destination set to attract 80 million tourists in 2020, according to Liu Cigui, Party secretary of Hainan province.

He said Hainan will continue opening itself up to the world and fully involve itself in the country's Belt and Road Initiative to expand cooperation and exchanges with neighboring countries and regions for greater development.

Nature is the biggest advantage and most valuable capital of Hainan, so any project that pollutes or harms local ecosystems will be banned, officials have said.

"We want to attract the best investments with the best resources," Liu said.

Hainan will strive to build a pleasant home for locals, a four-season garden and a holiday paradise for Chinese and overseas tourists, he said.

 

[cirr]

Hainan ready for horse racing, sports lotteries

2018-04-16 09:43 Global Times Editor: Li Yan

China unlikely to legalize gambling in Hainan: analysts

China will encourage horse racing and expand sports lotteries as part of efforts to turn its southernmost province of Hainan into a pilot area for expanded opening-up policies.

Despite speculation that the new policy might pave the way for casinos, Chinese analysts said that it was unlikely China would legalize gambling on the island.

The government will develop the sports lottery and instant lottery for major international sporting events in the province, according to a guideline published on the national government website on Saturday.

Some overseas media reported that China might give the nod to the development of gambling in Hainan.

A report from Bloomberg in February noted that China was considering "legal gambling" in Hainan, adding that over the long term the government might even "open the door to physical casinos" on top of its other tourism attractions.

Developing sports lotteries does not mean China will later relax its ban on gambling, said Li Hai, director of the Sport Lottery Research Center.

"I think with the government's clear ban on the gambling industry, the chances are very small that China will allow casinos in Hainan in the near future," Li said.

"But sports lotteries have been operating in China since around 2001 and the government is also pushing the industry in recent years with the hope of developing more sports lotteries for domestic matches," he told the Global Times on Sunday.

Li also predicted that further horse-racing lotteries in Hainan are also possible, as China already tried opening the sector in South China's Guangdong Province in the mid-1990s.

"Developing horse-racing can be a stimulus for tourism, just like the situation in Hong Kong, but such a long industrial chain needs a transparent and just management environment, which the government should work at," Li said.

Apart from supporting certain lotteries in Hainan Province, China will introduce other methods, including relaxed yachting tourism management, raising the quota for tax-free shopping as well as allowing overseas capital to set up entertainment agencies in Hainan, according to the guideline.

Free trade zone

The government will build Hainan into a pilot free trade zone with a focus on key areas like healthcare, education, sports, culture and finance, the guideline says.

The Chinese government on April 8 announced it would loosen its grip on medical equipment import management in a pilot zone at the port of Boao, Hainan.

The guideline also noted that China will explore establishing a free trade port with Chinese characteristics in Hainan.

The port won't focus on transfer trade or manufacturing, but will focus on tourism, modern services and the high-tech industry.

Ye Hang, a professor at the College of Economics of Zhejiang University, said that in Hainan, where tourism is the key industry, the government does not need to worry too much about the impact of opening-up on traditional heavy industries, unlike other free-trade zones like Shanghai and Shenzhen.

The provincial government can thus be more daring with the new opening-up policies, he noted.

Noting the trade dispute between the U.S. and China, Ye said the Chinese government needs to showcase its determination to open up and Hainan could serve as the "bridgehead."

 

[AndrewJin]

With this plan, how will Hainan compare to Shanghai and Hong Kong by 2030 on China's east coast? And Hainan vs Taiwan? Will Hainan's GDP surpass Taiwan inevitably?

impossible.
Population of Hainan is much smaller.
If you want Taiwan's pollution.....

Shanghai will inevitably surpass Taiwan in GDP.