International business leaders and scholars have welcomed China's decision to launch island-wide special customs operations in the country's southern province of Hainan via the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), calling it a concrete step toward deeper economic openness and broader global cooperation.
The new customs operations are scheduled to officially begin on Thursday, a symbolic date that coincides with the anniversary of the milestone Third Plenary Session of the 11th Communist Party of China Central Committee in 1978 that ushered in the reform and opening-up era, further underscoring China's unwavering commitment to promoting high-standard opening-up.
From an international business perspective, the tropical island of Hainan is becoming increasingly recognized as a vital gateway linking China to global markets, with its advantageous geographical location and supportive policy measures helping boost its global standing.
Jack Perry, chairman of The 48 Group, a London-based company focused on promoting trade between the UK and China, believes the special customs operations would create direct opportunities for overseas companies to establish both operations and infrastructure on the island.
"It's not just good for China supporting companies coming in, but it's a direct route for companies outside of China. So I think you're going to see a lot of companies going there to set up, to be able to not just set up offices, but set up infrastructure within Hainan that then they can take advantage of the free trade zone and be able to distribute within mainland," Perry said.
The move is also expected to further strengthen China's ties with close trading partners such as the United Arab Emirates(UAE) and Indonesia, who are now both members of BRICS, with government officials and scholars from both countries optimistic about the potential afforded by the Hainan FTP.
"It's another great step by the Chinese government to continue their liberalization of many of their industries, their zones and there will be many potential for engagements and partnerships between both sides. That is going to be very attractive to our investment, very attractive to our commodities to have a base within the free [trade] zone. We're going to complement the overall macro relations between both UAE and China that we're building the momentum and continuing the growth in our bilateral economic and trade relations," said Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE's trade minister.
"Hainan itself has been known to be the pioneer for visa-on-arrival practices in China and afterwards a lot of the new sort of openness, open-door policies [and] related activities have been tested in Hainan. And, by now, with this new expansion of having provincial-wide access, the benefit ranges [far], not just like in the traditional manufacturing, and also financial sector. These type of services are definitely very appealing for business practitioners, especially for Indonesia. We want to push for greater engagement of enriching businesses in China. China's firm determination in pushing for opening-up and also deeper and also wider regional integration is very much inspiring for a lot of countries in the region," said Christine Susanna Tjhin, director of strategic communication and research at the Gentala Institute in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, a scholar from South Africa, one of the five founding members of BRICS, also sees strategic opportunities arising from the new customs operations, pointing out that the initiative aligns trade liberalization with greater innovation will encourage wider global participation.
"A real key advantage is inviting countries from all over the world to participate economically and financially in China's greater global vision. And so not only is this a trade area, but it's an innovative trade area. So they're creating a region where companies and businesses from all over the world -- start-up businesses, small businesses, large companies -- can contribute. This is a great opportunity for South Africans to take advantage of taking their businesses into a region, getting access to larger markets. It creates greater markets for South African goods and then also to build stronger relationships between South Africa and China," said Dr. Peter Baur, an associate professor of the School of Economics at the University of Johannesburg.
Int'l experts hail potential of Hainan's special customs operations ahead of launch
