Diplomats who visit the Hainan Free Trade Port pose for a group photo. Photo: Courtesy of the Foreign Ministry of China

 

China's island province of Hainan, well known for its tourism industry, has enhanced its attractiveness to become a destination for international cooperation in a variety of fields.

This was the takeaway message expressed by a delegation of senior diplomats who have just completed a five-day tour of China's southernmost province, where a free trade port is taking shape.

The delegation comprised a total of 25 ambassadors, consul generals, and other diplomats from 15 countries in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Europe.

From April 22 to 26, they visited five cities and venues accommodating Hainan's key industries, including the Wenchang International Aerospace City and the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone.

A magnet for tourists and duty-free shoppers from home and abroad, Hainan is pushing for the development of four key industries: Tourism, the high-tech sector, modern services, and tropical high-efficiency agriculture.

In 2020, China released a master plan to build Hainan Island into a globally influential and high-level free trade port by the middle of the century. A slew of favorable policies have since been issued to support its development, including zero-tariff policies and policies to ease market and foreign investment access.

Gomun Kouya Bertin, counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire in China, expressed interest in the zero-tariff policy for the African country's cashew nuts and cocoa entering Hainan to undergo value-added processing, which he said facilitates entrance into the Chinese market.

"So far, we've mainly exported cashew nuts to China, and in the future, we expect more products to enter China's market," the diplomat said.

Hainan is a very important international hub connecting the two active markets in the world -- China and Southeast Asia, said Cambodian Consul General in Haikou Chhum Bunthan, who expects Hainan and Cambodia to deepen cooperation in fields such as trade, education, and tourism.

Finnish Ambassador to China Leena-Kaisa Mikkola took note of the cooperation opportunities in China's first special medical zone in Lecheng, which a business delegation of Finnish med-tech companies visited in 2020.

"Hainan is known for its beautiful nature, and the wonderful sea, but more and more also for its blooming business environment," she said. 

Global Times