Tourists shop at a duty-free makeup store in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province. Photo: Xinhua

A negative list of cross-border trade in services for Hainan Free Trade Port issued by the Ministry of Commerce is set to come into effect on Thursday, marking the nation's first negative list targeting cross-border trade in services.

The negative list proposed special management measures for foreign service providers to offer services in cross-border settings, areas addressed include national treatment, market access, local presence, and financial services cross-border trade, said the list, and the list will be applicable to Hainan Free Trade Port with the geographical scope of the entire island of Hainan.

The negative list outlines 70 special management measures in 11 categories for overseas services providers, and domestic and overseas services providers will have a level playing field and enjoy equal market access in Hainan which will ensure greater openness, transparency and predictability for industries not included on the list.

Official data showed that the actual use of foreign investment in Hainan reached $950 million in the first half of the year, surging 623.6 percent year-on-year.

Global Times