Official launch of island-wide special customs operations marks new milestone in country’s high-level opening-up

In a landmark step that underscores the country’s unwavering commitment to expand high-standard opening up and advance an open world economy, on Dec 18 the Hainan Free Trade Port officially launched island-wide special customs operations.

The move reflects China’s resolve to address external uncertainties with the certainty of expanded high-standard opening up, and inject new vitality into both the Chinese economy and global growth.

The share of zero-tariff products in the Hainan FTP will surge from 21 percent to 74 percent, with the number of tariff-free items expanding from about 1,900 to 6,637, and covering nearly all production equipment and raw materials.

The launch of island-wide special customs operations will also further open sectors such as tourism and high-tech industries.

The roots of this landmark development can be traced back to April 13, 2018, when President Xi Jinping announced that China would support Hainan, a tropical island about the size of Taiwan province off China’s southern coast, in exploring the creation of a free trade port with Chinese characteristics. Xi’s message traveled far beyond China’s southern shores.

It reached Atyrau, a city on Kazakhstan’s Caspian coast, where Ruslan Tulenov was working at a local chemical company after more than a decade studying and living in China.

The moment Xi’s announcement was broadcast, Tulenov knew it was the right time for him to return to Hainan, where he had completed his undergraduate studies.

“I was constantly observing this country — how it developed and where it was heading,” Tulenov recalled. “I wanted to find my own career chance in that process.”

Speaking that day at the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the founding of Hainan province and the Hainan Special Economic Zone, Xi highlighted Hainan’s special advantages, including its status as China’s biggest SEZ, its unique geographic location and the best ecological environment in the country, as reasons to make it a test ground for reform and opening-up.

The decision to build a pilot free trade zone and eventually a free trade port was, Xi stressed, a major move by the Communist Party of China Central Committee to signal China’s resolution of further opening up and promoting economic globalization.

China’s plan for the island’s future also opened the door for young talent like Tulenov. When the Hainan International Economic Development Bureau, established in 2019, launched a global talent recruitment campaign, he applied right away.

The bureau is the first government agency of its kind at the provincial level dedicated to attracting global investment for the Hainan Free Trade Port.

The multilingual Kazakh became the bureau’s first foreign employee, reflecting Hainan’s growing international orientation.

As policies for the Hainan Free Trade Port continued to take shape, China released a master plan in June 2020 to build Hainan into a globally influential, high-level free trade port by the middle of the century.

The document said that supporting Hainan’s construction of a free trade port system with Chinese characteristics is a significant move designed, arranged and promoted by Xi.

Two years later, in 2022, Tulenov found himself standing in the audience at the Yangpu Economic Development Zone in Hainan, listening as Xi spoke about Hainan’s development path.

The province, Xi said, had spent decades debating its industrial positioning. Now, the priorities were clear: tourism, modern services, high-tech industries, and tropical high-efficiency agriculture, he said.

As China’s only tropical province and a major maritime region, Hainan had natural advantages in developing these four industries. The four sectors already accounted for 67 percent of Hainan’s GDP in 2024.

During that trip, Xi also raised expectations: Hainan would become a paradigm of reform and opening-up in the new era, he said.

At the China International Import Expo, the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference and the G20 Leaders’ Summit, the Chinese president has, on many international occasions, highlighted China’s efforts to develop the Hainan Free Trade Port and develop new systems for a higher-standard open economy.

Xi said that all are welcome to share in the vast opportunities of the Chinese market.

“The launch of island-wide special customs operations will provide Hainan with the foundational conditions to advance opening-up across a broader scope and at a deeper level,” Xi said during his trip to Hainan last month, stressing the need to free minds, advance reform and explore new ground, and promote reform and opening-up across various sectors more proactively.

For Tulenov, each of Xi’s visits carries a personal meaning. “Every time President Xi comes, we feel encouraged,” he said.

As the International Economic Development Bureau’s global press officer, Tulenov has traveled extensively, promoting Hainan’s advantages to companies and investors across the world.

“I always tell them that Shenzhen was where China first opened to the world. Now Hainan is the next chapter,” he said.

Contact the writers at mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn