With China’s southern island province of Hainan developing into a major free trade port, it is becoming a key gateway linking the Chinese and global markets, especially in advanced, niche sectors, according to an expert from the National University of Singapore (NUS).
In a recent interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Goh Puay Guan, Track Leader at the Centre for Maritime Studies of NUS, highlighted Hainan's unique role in advancing China's high-standard opening-up.
"Traditionally, it (Hainan) started as sort of an agriculture-and-tourism type industry. And I understand that now there's a lot of push towards higher value-added manufacturing, in biotechnology, robotics, AI, etc. So I think in areas like that, it can sort of play a complementary role that helps it to act as a gateway right into the main Chinese market and vice versa, as a conduit for the products to come out through the Hainan free trade market and then go out to the rest of the world,” he said.
To fully leverage its unique position, Hainan should focus on advanced, niche industries and seek broader development on the basis of those, said Goh.
"It (Hainan) may have to select certain niche areas that it can be very strong in, for example, healthcare or medical services. So certain niche areas like this, where it potentially can play a certain role, I think that it may be good, in this way, to find certain roles it can take part in and therefore be able to tap on these different sectors of China's growth and economy," he said.
Hainan to be gateway into Chinese market, featuring higher value-added industries: expert
Iran's Minister of Science, Research and Technology Hossein Simaei-Sarraf on Saturday condemned the United States and Israel for attacking Iranian academic institutions and research facilities, saying that more than 30 universities across the country have been directly targeted since the war started in late February.
The official made the condemnation when speaking to reporters at the site of the damaged Shahid Beheshti University in the Iranian capital Tehran.
Simaei-Sarraf said five university professors and more than 60 students had been killed in the strikes so far, describing attacks on Iranian infrastructure as "crimes against humanity."
Those killed include Saeed Shamghadri, an associate professor at the Iran University of Science and Technology. "Since the war started, five university professors, including Professor Shamghadri, and more than 60 university students have been killed. As I mentioned before, more than 30 universities in Iran have been attacked. It is unbelievable that in an era when democratic values, rights, international law, and human rights are being promoted, the most obvious of these rights are being trampled, violated, and attacked," said Simaei-Sarraf.
An U.S.-Israeli air raid hit the laser and plasma research center of the Shahid Beheshti University on Friday, destroying the interior of the entire building and shattering all the windows. The force of the strike also shattered almost all the windows on another building about 100 meters away from the explosion site.
A researcher at the university said it is incomprehensible that such a facility could become a target of attacks.
"You can see that there's neither any military personnel or military activity here. This is a place where only research was being conducted. Why did it become a target of attacks? What was the motive for this crime?" Azimi, the researcher, said in an interview with China Media Group.
Since the U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran started, the Iranian government has repeatedly denounced the two countries for targeting the country's academic institutions and research facilities, calling such attacks serious war crimes.
Iranian official condemns U.S.-Israeli strikes on universities
