Int'l travel fair opens in Hainan as special customs operations begin

The China International Travel Mart, Asia's largest and most influential professional travel exhibition, opened on Friday in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province after the laid-back holiday paradise began special customs operations one day earlier, reshaping tourism cooperation, investment and visitor flows.

It is the first time that this event has been held in the province. The three-day fair, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, has attracted more than 1,000 business operators and representatives from 101 countries and regions, according to the organizers.

Covering an exhibition area of 65,000 square meters, the fair features five sections, focusing respectively on domestic tourism, overseas tourism, inbound tourist consumption, cultural-tourism integration, and a dedicated section promoting tourism in Hainan.

Official data showed that visa-free entries accounted for over 7 million foreign arrivals in the third quarter of this year, marking a 48.3 percent year-on-year increase, much to the delight of international travel agencies.

"For us as a tourism agency, it's important to send tour operators to China so that they are able to get to know China better and better, and we're able to send a lot of German visitors to your beautiful country," said a German exhibitor.

"I am here to develop my country's tourism by expanding both inbound and outbound mechanisms," said another exhibitor from Sri Lanka.

China on Thursday also launched island-wide special customs operations in the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), the world's largest FTP by area, allowing freer entry of overseas goods, expanding zero-tariff coverage, and introducing more business-friendly measures.

The move is widely seen as a landmark in the country's efforts to promote free trade and expand high-standard opening up and is expected to further boost travel to Hainan.

"I found many inbound suppliers and I hope we'll build a good business relationship," said an Italian exhibitor.

"I think it's about unleashing potential, because free trade is the cornerstone of the world today, and good trade means good relations, and that means a happy life," said an exhibitor from Indonesia.

Int'l travel fair opens in Hainan as special customs operations begin

China saw a forex settlement surplus of 15.7 billion U.S. dollars in November 2025, official data showed on Friday.

The amount of foreign exchange settlement by banks reached 209.5 billion dollars last month, while sales stood at 193.8 billion dollars, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

In the first 11 months of the year, the accumulative amount of forex settlement by banks amounted to nearly 2.28 trillion dollars, while sales reached around 2.18 trillion dollars.

In November, the amount of cross-border receipts and payments by non-banking sectors was 654.5 billion dollars and 636.7 billion dollars, respectively, the administration said.

During January to November, the accumulative amount of cross-border receipts and payments by non-banking sectors stood at about 7.15 trillion dollars and 6.96 trillion dollars, respectively, it added.

China's foreign exchange market remained stable in November, while global markets saw high volatility, with the U.S. dollar weakening and major non-U.S. currencies strengthening, according to Li Bin, deputy director and spokesman of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. Cross-border transactions remained brisk last month, with non-bank sectors recording 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars in cross-border inflows and outflows, up 8 percent month on month. The cross-border transaction surplus reached 17.8 billion dollars, below the September-October average of 24 billion dollars.

Goods trade remained the main driver of net inflows, while services, investment income and direct investment flows were stable. Securities investment also showed steadier trends in recent weeks.

China reports forex settlement surplus in November