Duty-free shopping in south China's Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) reached 3.89 billion yuan (around 557 million U.S. dollars) as of Jan. 10 after the official launch of island-wide special customs operations in the tropical island province on Dec. 18, 2025, China's General Administration of Customs said on Wednesday.
Officials described the special customs system as 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 other parts of the Chinese mainland.
The share of zero-tariff products in the Hainan FTP has been raised from 21 to 74 percent, expanding the list of related items from 1,900 to over 6,600.
Zero-tariff goods processed in Hainan can be sold to the mainland duty-free if their local processing generated an added value of 30 percent or more.
From Dec. 18, 2025 to Jan. 10 this year, Hainan's imports of zero-tariff goods through the "first line" reached 460 million yuan, with about 62.13 million yuan of tariff exempted, while duty-free goods processed in Hainan worth 56.82 million yuan were sold to the mainland, with tariff exemption reaching more than 2.3 million yuan.
"Duty-free shopping has been rising in Hainan, where categories of duty-free goods have been expanded from 45 to 47, with the additions of electronic products such as digital photography equipment and micro drones," said Wang Jun, deputy head of the General Administration of Customs, at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on China's 2025 foreign trade in Beijing.
"From the launch of island-wide special customs operations to Jan. 10, around 585,000 people carried out duty-free shopping involving 3.89 billion yuan in Hainan, up 32.4 percent and 49.6 percent year on year respectively. So during the period, an average of 24,000 people bought duty-free goods in Hainan every day, with the daily average consumption reaching 160 million yuan," he said.
Duty-free shopping soars in south China's Hainan after launch of island-wide special customs operations
China urges the United States to return to talks and immediately stop military actions, said Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, on Thursday.
The United States, as the rotating president of the UN Security Council for March, convened a Security Council meeting under the "non-proliferation" agenda item and pushed forward the work of the Security Council Sanctions Committee (1737 Committee) related to the Iran issue. China and Russia explicitly opposed this.
Speaking at the meeting, Fu said that the "snapback" sanctions mechanism for Iran has procedural and legal flaws and urged the United States and Israel to immediately cease military actions and refrain from attacking Iranian nuclear facilities that are under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in order to prevent further escalation of the situation and the spillover of the conflict.
After the meeting commenced, Russia raised a procedural motion opposing the consideration of this matter under the "non-proliferation" agenda item, and China expressed support for the Russian motion.
However, the Security Council adopted the meeting agenda with 11 votes in favor, two against, and two abstentions. China and Russia voted against.
In his statement following the vote, Fu pointed out that the current situation surrounding the Iranian nuclear issue remains tense. The pressing priority to resolve the issue is to cease the conflict and prevent escalation and avoid the spread of the war across the entire Middle East region, he said.
"Resorting to force is not the right way to resolve international disputes. The national sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity of Iran must be respected. The United States and Israel should immediately cease military actions, refrain from attacking Iranian nuclear facilities that are under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), avoid further escalation of tensions and keep the conflict from spreading across the entire Middle East region. We urge the United States to change course immediately, return to diplomatic negotiations, make a clear commitment not to use force, engage in sincere dialogue with Iran, and work toward a solution that meets the expectations of the international community," said Fu.
In 2006, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1737, imposing nuclear-related sanctions on Iran and establishing a specialized committee.
After the Iran nuclear deal was reached in 2015, the related sanctions were suspended under Resolution 2231, and the committee subsequently ceased operations.
At the end of August 2025, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom unilaterally issued a notification, claiming to trigger the "snapback" mechanism of the Iran nuclear deal, advocating for the reinstatement of previously suspended UN sanctions on Iran.
China urges US to return to talks, immediately stop military actions: envoy
