Hainan Free Trade Port's 100 Days of Closing and Opening Practice: Demonstrating a High-Level Opening "Real-World Achievement"

In the surging tides of the South China Sea, we set sail and forge ahead. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Boao Forum for Asia, Hainan Free Trade Port makes its first global appearance after the closure operation across the entire island. From the closure commencement on December 18, 2025, to the end of the forum on March 27, 2026, a short span of a hundred days not only serves as a “pressure test period” for Hainan Free Trade Port but also as a “real-life answer sheet” to China’s high-level opening-up.

Recently, reporters traversed the Boao venue, corporate workshops, and air cargo terminals, genuinely feeling the pace of openness in this vibrant land amidst the tide of the new era.

——Air routes are becoming increasingly dense, creating a new international aviation hub.

Since the closure, Hainan’s airports, including Haikou Meilan, Sanya Phoenix, and Qionghai Boao, have cumulatively handled 110,000 flights, with passenger throughput reaching 18.21 million, and cargo mail throughput of 120,000 tons, with core aviation transport indicators steadily growing; the international route network continues to expand, with the number of overseas routes increasing to 85, connecting 23 countries and 45 foreign cities, making Hainan Free Trade Port an important air gateway to the world, gradually becoming an industry consensus.

“By weaving a dense aerial passage and utilizing open air rights and other policies, Hainan is constructing an efficient transit system, smoothing the dual circulation air arteries of domestic and international; at the same time, amplifying policy dividends, utilizing ‘zero tariff’ for imported aircraft, bonded maintenance, and other policies to attract global airlines, strengthening the aviation maintenance and logistics industries,” said Huang Erwei, Secretary of the Board of Hainan Airports.

Hainan Airlines, deeply rooted in Hainan, is accelerating the creation of a route hub network. Recently, Hainan Airlines announced the addition of over 90 domestic routes for the summer and autumn seasons. Leveraging the “zero tariff” and processing value-added policies post-closure, Hainan Airlines’ Haikou Jinai Si has not only saved approximately 100 million yuan in taxes on self-imported equipment since its establishment in 2021 but also shortened the transportation time for bonded maintenance engines from one day to 40 minutes through an innovative “direct entry into the zone” supervision model.

——Openness releases dividends, gathering new opportunities for development.

At the Boao Forum for Asia’s “Global Free Trade Port Development Forum,” Hainan’s hundred-day data stood out: the number of newly established foreign-funded enterprises increased by 33.5%, and foreign trade import and export grew by 32.9%… Policies like zero tariffs, 30% tax exemption for processing value-added, and “double 15%” income tax have made Hainan a “fast lane” for foreign investment entering the Chinese market.

At the same time, Hainan is implementing measures such as a “one-stop service” for foreign talent work permits and residence permits, and opening up data flows in the value-added telecommunications sector, continuously optimizing the business environment with high-quality institutional services, allowing global investors to genuinely feel the open sincerity of the Free Trade Port. “Hainan after closure is becoming a valuable stable resource in international trade,” said Jack Perry, Chairman of the 48 Group in the UK.

According to reports, Hainan is accelerating the construction of “two bases, two hubs, and two networks,” promoting its transition from a regional trade node to a comprehensive trade hub connecting domestic and international markets, and creating a convergence point for the dual circulation strategy. Meanwhile, through the “Global Free Trade Zone (Port) Partner Program,” Hainan has attracted over 40 free trade zones (ports) to join, continuously expanding its “circle of friends” and extending its industrial chain.

——Industrial vitality bursts forth, activating new momentum for development.

Since the closure a hundred days ago, relying on the Free Trade Port policies, Hainan has been steadily advancing along the path of industrial transformation and upgrading, continuously converting the dividends of openness into high-quality development momentum.

At the Hainan Oscar International Grain and Oil Co., Ltd. facility in Hainan Yangpu Economic Development Zone, soybeans arriving from countries such as Brazil and Canada are being unloaded into storage, and processed edible oil is ready to be shipped out to sea. “Between the entrance and exit,” a soybean is processed into high-quality edible oil in an intelligent workshop, completing a value leap by the South China Sea.

“The value of a soybean lies not only in itself but also in the value-added space provided by Hainan Free Trade Port policies,” said Zhang Hui, Chairman of Oscar Grain and Oil. Thanks to Hainan Free Trade Port’s 30% tax exemption policy for processing value-added, imported soybeans undergo deep processing here, resulting in cumulative tax exemptions used to expand the scale of enterprises.

“The ‘zero tariff’ policy directly reduces the costs of raw materials and equipment for high-end manufacturing and medical device companies, while the ‘double 15%’ income tax policy significantly enhances companies’ net profits and talent attraction. The combination of these two policies provides enterprises with a full-chain cost advantage from production to profit.”

PwC Southern China Tax Market Leader Wang Shunyi told reporters that the next step is to refine policy operational guidelines, enhance customs clearance and settlement facilitation, strengthen infrastructure and talent support, and reduce hidden costs for enterprises, allowing policy dividends to flow more smoothly into businesses.

From the transformation and upgrading of Boao Town to the expansion and quality enhancement of the air cargo hub, from the precise and efficient implementation of policies to the vigorous steps of industrial upgrading, the hundred-day practice of Hainan Free Trade Port’s closure not only outlines the growth trajectory of an island but also clearly demonstrates China’s firm determination to expand its opening-up.