WIDER OPENING UP This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Hainan Special Economic Zone and its designation as a Chinese province. Hainan’s progress over the past three decades has been a microcosm of the achievements of China’s ref

China Report: as Peking University (PKU) or Tsinghua University returning to Hainan. Now I myself know several PKU graduates returning to their hometowns in Hainan to work.

The historic changes which took place here are directly attributed to the reform and opening-up drive. Without this policy, these changes would not have been possible. The Decision on Setting Up Hainan Province and the Decision on Establishing the Hainan Special Economic Zone were adopted at the First Session of the Seventh National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, on April 13, 1988. Hainan was originally designed to become the largest special economic zone in China, applying policies which were even more preferential than those in other economic zones.

In retrospect, although Hainan has made historic achievements toward its development as a special economic zone, it’s off the mark when it comes to its original designation due to multiple factors. For instance, the idea of adopting more preferential policies than its peers failed to be sufficiently realized owing to restrictions imposed by existing institutional systems. Moreover, the goal of enabling Hainan to enter the international market and enjoy an economic status similar to Hong Kong has not been completed. The province still needs to allow reform and opening up to reinforce each other.

Hainan is making an effort to open up its tourism industry by transforming into an international tourism island in order to drive the opening up of other industries. The province has developed rapidly since positioning itself to become an international tourism