The tide rises to the south of the sea, and the wind and sail are hanging. On December 18, 2025, a day that echoes the horn of reform and opening up in 1978, the new seaport in Haikou was bustling with people and machinery, and the island wide operation of the Hainan Free Trade Port was officially launched. This hub port, resembling a gathering Kunpeng, witnesses China's opening up to the outside world entering a new stage of "leading" - from economic zones to free trade ports, from policy exploration to institutional formation. On the 33900 square kilometers of Qiong Island, a world-renowned open highland is accelerating its rise.

From the Path of Exploration to Embarking on a Sealed Journey

Hainan's journey of opening up has always been engraved with the imprint of the times. In 1988, a provincial economic special zone was established. In 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping solemnly announced the construction of a free trade port with Chinese characteristics. In 2020, the "Overall Plan for the Construction of Hainan Free Trade Port" was released, and now the entire island is closed. After more than 40 years of hard work, Hainan has completed the leap from an "experimental field" to an "important gateway".

Behind this leap lies a precise strategic positioning. Abandoning the extensive development path, Hainan focuses on the four leading industries of tourism, modern service industry, high-tech industry, and tropical characteristic efficient agriculture, deeply integrating policy advantages with resource endowment. Data witnesses growth: From 2020 to 2024, the total import and export volume of Hainan's trade jumped from 93.33 billion yuan to 277.89 billion yuan, with the added value of the four leading industries accounting for 67.2%, becoming the core engine of economic growth.

Sealing off is not sealing off the island, opening up further enhances the dimension

The blockade is not about sealing off islands, but about ensuring the relative freedom of economic operation of free trade ports on the basis of sound supervision. "Professor Sang Baichuan from the University of International Business and Economics explained the core logic of this blockade. The institutional system centered on "opening up the front line, regulating the second line, and promoting freedom within the island" is unleashing unprecedented dividends of openness.

Comprehensive expansion of policy dividends: "zero tariff" goods have expanded from 1900 tax items to about 6600 tax items, covering 74% of commodity tax items, and the beneficiaries have been extended to various enterprises and institutions; The implementation of the "two 15%" preferential policies for corporate and personal income tax has been effective. Enterprises with taxable income of 10 million yuan can enjoy a tax reduction of 1 million yuan, and the tax burden on high-end talents has been significantly reduced.

Institutional innovation continues to deepen: Yangpu Port has registered a total of 73 international ships with a total capacity of over 7.16 million deadweight tons, and its functions such as bonded fuel refueling are becoming increasingly perfect; The EF multifunctional free trade account has established a cross-border financial service ecosystem, with a policy of exempting domestic sales of goods with a processing value of over 30% from tariffs, attracting the gathering of high-end manufacturing industries. Efficient operation of 10 'second tier ports', achieving an organic unity of' flexible 'and' well managed '.

From project implementation to global hot soil

Behind the closure and opening of the curtain is a solid support for a group of iconic projects. Haikou International Duty Free City gathers over 800 well-known brands and has become the world's largest single duty-free shop; Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site achieved "nine battles and nine victories", opening up a new track for the aerospace industry; The modular small reactor of "Linglong One" has successfully undergone cold testing, with an annual power generation capacity of up to 1 billion kilowatt hours; The nearly 1000 kilometer circular tourism road connects the unique landscapes of the entire island, becoming a new benchmark for cultural and tourism integration.

The open Hainan is becoming a global investment hotspot. Over the past five years, Hainan has actually used more than 102.5 billion yuan of foreign investment, with an average annual growth rate of 14.6%. 176 countries and regions have invested and started businesses here. In the 2025 industrial transfer docking activity, 110 projects were signed in a concentrated manner, and companies such as Siemens Energy were deeply involved in offshore wind power and other fields. Hainan's cooperation with the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area and Southeast Asian countries continued to deepen, becoming a key intersection point for domestic and international dual circulation.

The path of openness and win-win with Chinese characteristics

Unlike international free trade ports that solely pursue economic benefits, Hainan Free Trade Port has always adhered to the Chinese characteristics. Adhering to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, leveraging the advantages of the national unified system, and integrating ecological protection and improvement of people's livelihoods into the process of opening up - Sanya Wuzhizhou Island Marine Ranch achieves a win-win situation for ecology and economy, Baisha Li Autonomous County's "Two Mountain Loans" contribute to common prosperity, and the offshore tax exemption policy continues to optimize and benefit the people.

The Hainan Free Trade Port will play a greater role in enhancing global economic resilience, "said former Spanish Foreign Minister Gonz á lez, highlighting the expectations of the international community. Facing the "15th Five Year Plan", Hainan is taking the closure of the entire island as a new starting point, steadily expanding its institutional opening-up, bravely advancing in scientific and technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and regional cooperation, and demonstrating its firm determination to "open the door to China wider and wider" with practical actions, creating a beautiful business card that showcases the Chinese style.Editor/Bian Wenjun