Farmers in Qionghai, South China's Hainan Province, pick pineapples on Monday. Local farmers are speeding up the pineapple harvest as demand surges during the three-day Qingming Festival holidays. Photo: CNSphoto

China's top economic planner and commerce ministry announced 22 affirmative measures to boost market access to support the building of China's free trade port in South China's Hainan Province with the highlight on pushing forward the opening up in high-end consumer-oriented service industries, experts said.

According to a document co-released by China's National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Commerce on Thursday, the province will further ease market access for medicines, finance, culture, education, and agriculture, pinpointing the top priority for the development of Hainan.

The central government has given Hainan the "unprecedented facilitations of opening up," which was reflected in the latest favorable policy that pointed out "high-end consumer-oriented service industries" such as medicine and education would bring the island's superiority into full play, Tian Yun, vice director of the Beijing Economic Operation Association, told the Global Times.

In terms of medicine, Hainan will encourage research on innovative medicine and practice of high-end aesthetic medicine in the province. 

According to the document, pharmaceutical enterprises registered in Hainan which have completed phase I - III clinical trials and obtained marketing license in China should enjoy easing access to medical institutions.

Beauty clinics in designated areas will enjoy favorable policies when using medical beauty products and medical equipment listed in the US, the European Union, Japan and other countries or regions.

Foreign high-level aesthetic medicine personals are encouraged to practice in Hainan while international industrial exhibitions and organizations will also be held to attract aesthetic medicine related tourism.

The document also gives boost to educational and cultural exchange along the Belt and Road countries. 

Cultural activities and creations along the Belt and Road countries will be encouraged to perform and settle in Hainan. Domestic well-known universities are encouraged to establish international colleges in Hainan targeting international students, especially those from the Belt and Road countries.

In terms of agriculture, measures will be taken to further relax the market access to seed industry in Hainan and simplify import and export license of crops and herb seeds for Chinese traditional medicinal.

The island will be encouraged to carry out cooperative research with overseas institutions and experts to further optimize the management of overseas introduced agricultural seeds.

These service industries would bring supporting infrastructure, introduction of talent and further opening up in finance step by step, Tian noted.

"The position of Hainan free trade port is different from that in Shanghai, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integration region and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, because some institutional innovations could be trialed on the island - an experimental field with higher level," Tian said. For instance, the free exchange of currencies and wider pilot of digital yuan could be trialed in Hainan.

Different from the free trade in Singapore, Tian also said the port has the support of China's 100 trillion yuan GDP volume and tight industrial connections across the mainland region - "an integrated planning from strategic perspective."