China's Hainan FTP marks its 100-day launch with foreign trade cargo volume surge

Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), located in south China's Hainan Province, reported a surge in the foreign trade cargo volume, marking its first 100 days of island-wide special customs operations on Friday.

The world's largest free trade port by area was launched on Dec 18, 2025, allowing freer entry of overseas goods, expanding zero-tariff coverage, and introducing more business-friendly measures. FTP intends to become a world-class, high-level free trade port.

Benefiting from its strategic location and special customs operations, an increasing volume of goods is entering and leaving China through Yangpu Port, the largest cargo port in Hainan FTP, resulting in a surge in foreign trade cargo volume.

"Our vessel mainly operates on Southeast Asian routes, calling at countries such as Malaysia and Bangladesh. Departing from Yangpu [Port], the vessel is almost always fully loaded. Since the end of last year, refrigerated container volumes have grown by more than 30 percent year on year," said Zhou Zhongming, first mate on a cargo vessel.

Since the launch of special customs operations, the number of cargo ships calling at Yangpu for routes to Southeast Asia, Africa and the Americas has been increasing, according to Yangpu authorities.

As of Wednesday, approximately 1,408 international vessels have entered and left Yangpu Port -- up over 20 percent year on year, and nearly 31.748 million tons of cargo moved through the port, an increase of over 35 percent year on year.

"Foreign trade cargo vessels transiting the Hainan FTP can now refuel with bonded fuel, cutting costs by roughly 20 percent. Furthermore, goods passing through the Hainan FTP are eligible for export tax refunds at the port of departure, and imported products that undergo at least 30 percent value-added processing in Hainan can enter the mainland tariff-free. These incentives are continuously attracting more ships to transit through Yangpu," said Liu Yi, deputy director of the Yangpu Maritime Safety Administration.

So far, Hainan has attracted investment from 180 countries and regions, granted visa-free entry to 86 countries, and established partnerships with 43 free trade zones (ports) worldwide.

China's Hainan FTP marks its 100-day launch with foreign trade cargo volume surge

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Friday that it struck multiple missile production and storage sites across Iran from Thursday night into early Friday morning.

According to the IDF, its strikes hit facilities producing ballistic missiles and other weapons in the Iranian capital Tehran, as well as missile launchers and storage facilities in western Iran.

The IDF also said that it struck Iran's primary military naval site for the production of missiles and sea mines in central Iran.

The site, located in the city of Yazd and targeted by the Israeli Air Force, was used for the planning, development, assembly and storage of advanced missiles intended for launch from surface vessels, submarines and helicopters against both mobile and stationary maritime targets, the IDF said in a statement.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) said on social media on Friday that a residential area in Tehran was hit by airstrikes. Search and rescue operations are underway.

Also on Friday, a security official in the central province of Qom said that the U.S. and Israeli attacks in the Pardisan area in the early hours of the day have resulted in 15 deaths and 10 injuries.

The death toll could rise further as the search and rescue operations are still underway, said the official.

Israel claims strikes on Iran's missile production, storage sites while Iran reports more casualties