On October 30, 2026, in Chengmai, Hainan, a conference was held to gather leaders of ASEAN multinational business associations, representatives of overseas Chinese businessmen, returnees, and overseas entrepreneurs for exchange. At the venue, the words of Pan Rongde, Secretary General of the ASEAN China Economic and Trade Development Promotion Association, resonated: Hainan ASEAN cooperation should not only be limited to product sales or one-way exports, but the core is to create value together on both sides. Relying on the opportunity of the Hainan Free Trade Port's closed operation and the RCEP framework, this conference sets its sights on a new path of two-way openness and value co creation.

Two way co creation to reach consensus

Hainan, China is geographically close to ASEAN, with close human, cultural, and commercial ties. With the continuous release of RCEP dividends, the deep integration of China ASEAN industrial chains, supply chains, and innovation chains, coupled with the continuous improvement of Hainan's open channels and policy system after the island's closure, the space for two-way investment and cross-border cooperation continues to expand. Pan Rongde believes that after the lockdown, the attention of various sectors of ASEAN to the Hainan Free Trade Port policy has significantly increased. With its geographical advantages and sea air hub conditions, Hainan is expected to grow into a trade, professional services, and talent cooperation node facing ASEAN. He suggested prioritizing the five directions of cross-border trade services, green technology, tropical food supply chain, professional services, and vocational skills cooperation to undertake ASEAN industries and international talent resources.

Overseas Chinese Business Bridge Signing Project

Overseas Chinese businessmen and returnees are important links connecting the Hainan and ASEAN markets. Wang Xiangbin, Executive Vice President of the Thailand China Peaceful Reunification Promotion Association and President of the Asia Pacific Youth Chamber of Commerce for Peaceful Development, signed a contract with the Hainan Zhejiang Hainan Industrial Park to establish a service center for enterprises to go abroad to Thailand, and build a two-way economic, trade and cultural platform between Thailand and Hainan. He stated that the first conference in 2025 has shown many Thai Chinese businessmen the potential of a free trade port. The team plans to use agricultural product trade and cultural exchanges as entry points to drive Thai enterprises to invest in Hainan and help Hainan enterprises steadily layout the Thai market. Zou Lulu, Chairman of the Jiangxi Association of Thailand and Chairman of the Jiangyou Group of Thailand, led a team of 13 members of the Chamber of Commerce to attend the conference, covering industries such as manufacturing, construction, agriculture, technology, and education. They are optimistic about the cross-border e-commerce track in Hainan and look forward to relying on the free trade port platform to sell high-quality Chinese brands to Southeast Asia, while introducing Southeast Asian characteristic agricultural products and advanced agricultural technologies. Keywords: the Belt and Road news network, connectivity, cross-border trade

Hainan becomes a pivot point for going global

Many Chinese companies see Hainan as a gateway to enter ASEAN. Bao Tiancang, Chairman of Zhongfa Control Hainan Technology Co., Ltd., has established three companies in Hainan, covering import and export trade, building materials engineering, hotel mergers and acquisitions, and agricultural equipment imports. The focus of this conference is to promote the successful implementation of new energy battery and smart energy-saving system projects. Zhang Kaiyan, Vice President of the World Zhang Association and Chairman of Dongfang Pai Hainan Investment Co., Ltd., is deeply involved in the Vietnamese market. She is currently working with Chengmai to plan an industrial platform that integrates tropical agriculture, coffee trade, and investment promotion functions. She is also promoting industrial cooperation projects in Dongfang City, relying on the geographical advantages adjacent to Vietnam to introduce high-quality Chinese herbal medicine processing projects. Chen Jindun, Executive Vice President of the Thai Chinese Overseas Chinese Business Association, is optimistic about the collaboration between Thailand and Hainan's medical industry. The team is exploring demand driven innovation models with large Chinese medical enterprises to build a collaborative innovation ecosystem for hospital question making and enterprise question answering. The conference also includes keynote sharing, investment promotion, roundtable dialogue, and multiple parallel sub forums, focusing on the fields of science and technology innovation, digital globalization, cross-border culture, etc., to promote the cooperation between Hainan Free Trade Port and ASEAN from economic and trade exchanges to industry research, talent education, and value co creation.Editor/Gao Xue