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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
HAIKOU, January 21 (Xinhua) — Business activity at the Hainan Free Trade Port (HFTP) increased in the first month of the launch of independent customs operations throughout the port, resulting in an increase in company registrations and a rise in trade volumes of both regular goods and services, as well as duty-free products. This was announced at a press conference held last Monday.
During the reporting period, a total of 21,000 new companies were registered, a 16.42 percent increase year-on-year. Of these, 331 were foreign-invested, a 13 percent increase year-on-year, demonstrating growing market viability and investor confidence.
The political dividends generated by independent customs operations are already being translated into concrete benefits for market participants both domestically and internationally, said Cui Weijie, deputy head of the China Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a think tank under the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
“Chinese enterprises can use the Hainan Free Trade Zone for more convenient access to global markets, while for foreign companies it can become a springboard for entering the mainland market,” he added.
As a reminder, the independent customs operations regime began operating throughout the Hainan Free Trade Zone on December 18. It provides for "freer first-line access," meaning freer trade between Hainan and areas beyond China's customs border, and "regulated second-line access," meaning maintaining standard customs controls in mainland China.
As noted at the aforementioned press conference, in the first month of the new customs regime, the total value of goods imported at zero “first-line” tariffs increased by 38.9 percent year-on-year to 753 million yuan (about 108 million US dollars), while the amount of unpaid import customs duties increased by 194.6 percent to 109 million yuan.
The value of processed and value-added goods sold domestically through the second line increased by 37.2 percent, including goods worth nearly 85.87 million yuan, with the tariff rebate amounting to 3.32 million yuan.
Companies say the new rules are delivering concrete cost savings at the operational level.
Hainan Hongyan Food Co., Ltd., located in Yangpu Economic Development Zone (Yangpu EDZ), which is a leader in implementing the preferential policies of Hainan FTA, including tariff reduction and incentives, mainly imports beef from abroad, processes it into dried meat and sells it duty-free in the domestic market.
According to the company's chairman, Liu Heping, Hongyan has saved over 3 million yuan in duties over the past two years. "This policy has allowed us to reduce production costs and also opened up new opportunities for entering Southeast Asian markets," he noted.
Along with domestic firms, foreign-invested enterprises are also expanding their presence. On the day the port's independent customs operations regime was introduced in the Yangpu Economic Zone, Siemens Energy (Hainan) Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Siemens Energy, a Fortune 500 company, was established. It became the company's first gas turbine assembly and service center in the country.
Lars Volker, CEO of Siemens Energy (Hainan) Co., Ltd., said strong government support allowed the project to move forward in a very short time, laying a solid foundation for future development.
To further facilitate such investment, local authorities have adopted a package of measures aimed at facilitating market entry. These include simplified documentation requirements, expanded verification methods, and one-stop registration services, noted Zhu Mengwen, who works at the Danzhou City Market Regulatory Authority, home to the Yangpu Economic Zone.
In addition to trade and investment, easier cross-border travel and duty-free policies also contributed to consumption growth. Official data show that in the first month of the new customs regime in Hainan, duty-free trade volume reached 4.86 billion yuan, an increase of 46.8 percent year-on-year.
Experts argue that the changes to the Hainan Free Trade Agreement reflect broader national efforts to expand institutional openness. The guidelines for China's 15th Five-Year Economic and Social Development Plan (2026-2030) call for further expansion of institutional openness, protection of the multilateral trading system, and promotion of expanded international economic flows.
"The Hainan Free Trade Zone not only demonstrates China's unwavering commitment to high-level opening-up, but also brings greater certainty and positive impetus to the global economy and international trade cooperation," Cui Weijie said.
Guan Jirong, a provincial official, noted that 2026 marked the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development in China and the commencement of the independent customs operation regime throughout the Hainan Free Trade Port.
He noted that this year will be a new starting point for the Hainan Free Trade Zone to accelerate its own development and become the leading gateway to China's opening up in the new era. -0-
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