Several foreign expatriates living in Sanya of south China's Hainan Province expressed their confidence in the future of the tropical island, willing to stay to seize more opportunities brought about by the development of the Free Trade Port (FTP).
As the world's largest FTP by area, the Hainan FTP on Thursday launched island-wide special customs operations, allowing freer entry of overseas goods, expanding zero-tariff coverage and more business-friendly measures.
Under the new arrangements, the tropical island of more than 30,000 square kilometers has been designated as a special customs supervision zone, marking a new stage in the development of the Hainan FTP.
Muhammad Musa Khan, a 36-year-old from Pakistan, is studying how to use rove beetles to protect rice crops from pests as an associate researcher of the Hainan Institute of Zhejiang University at the Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City in Sanya.
"The scientific research environment is very good here. My colleagues are nice and brilliant. They have offered me a lot of help," Khan said in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV).
"I have published four papers as the first author and obtained two patents in Sanya. This year, I have been granted a nationally funded project. I'm very excited because I have worked on that for many years," he told CCTV.
"There are many scientific research projects launched by Hainan, the Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City, and national projects. Both Chinese researchers and foreign researchers can apply for them. So, Sanya is a very good place. We have equal opportunities," Khan said.
Calling his career in Hainan a dream come true, Khan said, "I want to continue my research here in the future to safeguard more rice fields."
Another expat enjoying her life in Sanya is Charlotte, a Belgian serving as a business development manager at the Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City, who has witnessed the rapid development of the cutting-edge innovation hub.
"When I first came to work here in 2021, the Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City was still in its initial stage. There were only a few buildings at that time, nothing else. But now, in 2025, as the Hainan Free Trade Port was about to begin special customs operations, our science and technology city has developed rapidly, with more than 10,000 enterprises, including 163 foreign-funded firms, operating here. Since I began working here, my team has attracted more than 50 foreign-funded enterprises, and those by myself include firms from Russia, Canada, Italy, France, and the United States," Charlotte said.
Charlotte also introduced the Innovative Research and Education Valley, a talent pool of the innovation hub.
"This is the Innovative Research and Education Valley of the Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City. It's home to 19 universities, with more than 8,000 graduate and doctoral student. They are very interested in the future development of the Hainan Free Trade Port after it launches special customs operations," she said.
Among the students is Nikolai, a Russian senior at the Sanya Institute of China Agricultural University, who hopes to find a job in Hainan after graduation next year.
"I know Hainan will continue building the free trade port next year, and I hope various kinds of companies will come here, so I wish to find a job in one of them and work here. The Hainan Free Trade Port will provide both foreigners and Chinese people with numerous job opportunities in the future, so I'm very confident in Hainan's future," Nikolai said.
Once an underdeveloped frontier outpost, Hainan became China's largest special economic zone in 1988. A master plan released in 2020 set the goal of developing the island into a globally influential, high-level FTP by the middle of the century.
Official data show that since 2020, more than 9,600 foreign-invested enterprises have been established in Hainan.
Foreign expats express confidence in Hainan’s future
