The 7th China-Arab States Expo will be held from August 28 to 31 in Yinchuan, the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China.
At a press conference in Beijing on Friday, Wang Li, vice-chairman of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region People's Government, announced that the expo will focus on the theme "Innovation, Green, Prosperity." To date, over 500 institutions and enterprises from 42 countries, 30 Chinese province-level regions, along with China's Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, have registered to participate.
"For the first time, we are introducing a matchmaking event organized by the China International Contractors Association for overseas parks and infrastructure investors, along with the inaugural Silk Road E-commerce Cooperation and Innovation Development Conference, and a newly established China-Arab Meteorological Technology Exchange Hall to showcase our achievements in meteorological cooperation," said Wang.
In addition, the expo will unveil five key outcomes, including the 2024 Report on the Development of China-Arab Economic and Trade Relations. More than 40 trade matchmaking activities will be conducted, focusing on green low-carbon initiatives, the digital economy, and healthcare, Wang added.
7th China-Arab States Expo to be held in China's Yinchuan from Aug. 28 to 31
South China's Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), the world's largest FTP by area, is in smooth and orderly operations one month into the launch of its special customs operations.
The island has seen an increase in both the value of imports of zero-tariff goods and the number of foreign trade entities since Dec 18.
According to the Haikou Customs, from Dec. 18, 2025 to Jan. 17, 2026, the value of "first line" imported zero-tariff goods was 750 million yuan (about 107 million U.S. dollars); the value of processed and value-added goods sold domestically through the "second line" was about 85.9 million yuan.
Meanwhile, a total of 5,132 new foreign trade entities were registered in this period.
In addition, the duty-free sales supervised by customs reached 4.86 billion yuan, up 46.8 percent year on year, and the number of shoppers rose 30.2 percent year on year to 745,000, showing sustained strong consumption vitality.
To better meet the diverse needs of tourists, Hainan's duty-free policy ushered in a new round of adjustments on Nov. 1, 2025. The categories of duty-free goods increased from 45 to 47, and the beneficiary range was expanded to include outbound travelers, attracting more international tourists to duty-free shopping.
On Dec. 18 last year, China launched island-wide special customs operations in the Hainan FTP, allowing freer entry of overseas goods, expanding zero-tariff coverage, and introducing more business-friendly measures.
One notable special customs policy is offering "freer access at the first line," referring to freer trade between Hainan and areas outside China's customs borders, and "regulated access at the second line," which involves applying standard customs controls for goods moving from Hainan to the mainland.
China's Hainan FTP sees early gains from island-wide special customs operations
