Hainan shows potential of the free trade port to more than 100 US companies

HAIKOU, September 26. More than 100 companies from the US recently took part in a webinar in the Chinese province of Hainan on the topic "Hainan: Chinese Hawaii and the world's largest free trade zone." The event is organized by the Provincial Office for International Economic Development, the China Heartland Association of the United States, and Arizona State University, according to www.hinews.cn.

Aerial photo shows the Century Bridge, a landmark building in provincial capital Haikou. FENG SHUO / HAINAN DAILY

The webinar has become an important platform for enhancing economic cooperation between the US companies and China through the free trade port platform on Hainan. The participants presented various aspects of Hainan's development, the peculiarities of the regional culture, the state of the economy, key projects, industrial parks, as well as business opportunities in this Chinese province for foreign companies.

According to the chairman of the American Association Bob Holden, Hainan can be an excellent example of cooperation between China and US. Openness in trade in goods and services, according to him, is accompanied by innovation in the minds of people. Through free trade and global work, countries can lead globalization on the path they want to see.

The Midwest is a region of the United States, which is also called "the heart of America", which reflects its role in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors of the country. It is in this region, which spans 20 states from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, that 430 companies from Fortune 1000 ranking are based. The US Heartland China Association was founded in 2003 to strengthen ties between the US Midwest and China. The webinar, the news outlet writes, is intended to give a new impetus to strengthen exchanges between China and US at the regional level in order to attract more American companies to trade and economic cooperation with Hainan.

Hainan's free trade port program, published on June 1, 2020, provides for the island's transformation into a special customs zone. The country's government expects to complete the creation of a free port in general by 2025: by this time, a system for ensuring free trade and investment should be created on the island.

By 2035, the free port and its model will become more solid. By this time, it is planned to ensure freedom of trade and investment, cross-border movement of capital, people, and freight traffic on the Island of Hainan.