Hainan free trade port offers immense opportunities to the world: trade representative

The Hainan free trade port (FTP) in southern China "is a national strategy and a will of the Chinese government to promote high-quality opening and opportunities to the rest of the world," said a China trade representative here on Thursday.

Zhao Feng, deputy chief representative of the Representative Office in the European Union (Belgium) of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), made such comments to Xinhua on the sidelines of a ceremony to present the port's assets.

The port offers incentives to the global business community, such as a low tax rate, high-tech transportation and industry, and highly qualified personnel.

China released a plan for the port in 2018, aiming to turn the island province into a top-tier FTP with global influence by mid-century. Over the past five years, the free trade zone in Hainan has made significant progress in liberalizing and facilitating investment and trade.

The example of the Belgian company PB Leiner, which has been operating in China since October 2022, is indicative of the benefits of the Hainan FTP.

"The reason we went to Hainan is that there is a large base for aquaculture, especially tilapia," explained Wim Poot, executive vice president of PB Leiner and producer of gelatin and collagen from pigskin, beef and fish.

China is a large market with "less political risk." "It's a guarantee of stability, and for someone who wants to invest, it's a guarantee of security," he said.

The Hainan free trade zone enables foreign companies "to produce in China, and not only for China, but also to export to other countries, such as Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, and also to North America and Europe," said Poot.

The ease of doing business, the availability of workers are advantages the port offers. "Even in Europe or North America we still have problems finding employees and workers, but we have not had this problem in Hainan," said Poot.

Since its establishment in 2018, the Hainan FTP has offered many enviable prospects for commerce and free trade with the rest of the world. As of January 2023, Hainan had exempted nearly 3 billion yuan (436 million U.S. dollars) of import duties for the goods subject to zero tariffs as well as for the processing trade.