Aerial photo taken on April 4, 2020 shows the Sanya international duty-free shopping complex in Sanya, South China's Hainan Province. Photo: Xinhua

Visitors to Hainan Province will see their offshore duty-free shopping quota on the resort island jump from 30,000 yuan ($4,239.38) to 100,000 yuan a year, and will also be allowed to purchase seven new categories of duty-free commodities including electronic products to further stimulate consumption amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The new rule, effective from Wednesday, was jointly released by the Ministry of Finance, General Administration of Chinese Customs and China's State Taxation Administration on Monday.

Most of the common products favored by Chinese consumers are basically included in the tax exemption list, categories of duty-free commodities have jumped to 45 from 38. Watches, perfumes, cosmetics, infant formula milk powder, tablet computers, wearable devices, mobile phones, video game consoles and alcohol, are all included on the list, the announcement noted.

The new rule still imposes a limit on the number of single purchases of three types of products including cosmetics, mobile phones, and alcohol beverages. Each customer will be limited to 30 pieces of cosmetics and four mobile phones. 

The new measures will be the most attractive policy for Hainan tourism, and an effective measure to stimulate travel and consumption amid the pandemic, especially when overseas travel is restricted, industry insiders said.

"The 100,000-yuan limit is a huge increase, and I will definitely find time to travel to the province," Li Sha, a Beijing-based white collar worker, told the Global Times on Monday, describing the new rule as "timely and very attractive."

"People will not bother travelling overseas for a 'bargain' in luxury products," Li said.

Since China began a trial of tax-free shopping in the province in 2011,16.31 million purchases with a total sales value of 53.8 billion yuan were made as of the end of 2019, customs data showed.

This policy adjustment will greatly improve consumers' shopping experience and promote Hainan as an international tourism and consumer center, and enhance the confidence of all sectors in the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port, the announcement reads.

The new rule is also in line with the master plan for the Hainan free trade port, aiming to build the southern island province into a globally-influential, high-level free trade port by the middle of the century.

A free trade port system focusing on trade and investment liberalization and facilitation will be "basically established" in Hainan by 2025 and become "more mature" by 2035, according to the plan jointly issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council on June 1, Xinhua News Agency reported.