Hainan, symbol of economic miracle
Emphasis put on medical tourism, green development, free trade
Thanks to the reform and opening-up policy, growth in South China’s Hainan Province is a symbol of China’s economic miracle, and looking to the future, the province will be more open and freer, with importance attached to environmental protection.
Compared with 1987, when Hainan became a special economic zone, its main economic indexes have skyrocketed tenfold, or even a hundred fold. The province’s GDP increased by 21.8 times and local fiscal revenue soared by 216.8 times, Shen Xiaoming, governor of Hainan, said at a session during the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) on Monday, the last day of the annual economic meeting.
“After 30 years of development, Hainan is playing an increasingly important role in international affairs. It has more global links, and there are more international hotels, hospitals, events and schools in Hainan,” Shen said.
At the forum, former Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who first attended the BFA in 2007, told the Global Times in an interview on Monday that she was very impressed by Hainan’s economic growth.
“When I first came to Boao in 2007, there was only one hotel near the BFA International Conference Center, but now there are more hotels, even in towns a 30-minute drive from the center,” she said.
Growing tourism
Hainan’s fast growth is primarily attributed to opening-up, which was largely driven by tourism, Chi Fulin, head of the China Institute for Reform and Development, told the Global Times on the sidelines of the forum.
An island that links the Chinese mainland and Southeast Asia, Hainan has been on the forefront of Chinese reform and opening-up. Since the promotion of Hainan as an international tourism zone was elevated to become a national strategy, the State Council, the country’s cabinet, announced a series of favorable policies which further boosted the province’s opening-up, the Xinhua News Agency reported Monday.
Policies like departure tax refunds and offshore duty-free purchases, visaexempt entry policies for citizens of 26 countries, as well as convenient flight links, make the province one of the most open and free regions for tourists in China.
In addition, the State Council gave the green light for Hainan to establish the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in 2013, a green city project that includes medical services, pharmaceuticals, senior care and tourism. It has special status in terms of certain policies, one of which is streamlining registration and approval process for imported medicine.
“Hainan plans to attract patients from Southeast Asian countries and develop a medical tourism industry,” Shen said during this year’s two sessions held in March, the Hainan Daily reported on Tuesday.
Door open wider
Looking ahead, Chi said he expected wider opening-up and the development of a free trade port in the province.
As for what policies the central government would offer to Hainan, Zhang Yansheng, a research fellow with the China Center for International Economic Exchange, said on Wednesday that special policies about improving markets, business and the investment environment may be rolled out.
Apart from attracting talented employees and implementing mechanism construction reform, Hainan should strengthen cross-border connectivity, Zhang told the Global Times.
“As far as China or the world as a whole is concerned, [Hainan] is a platform, a window and a bridge,” Zhang said.
While the plan for Hainan is to have more open and freer development, the province should attach more importance to environmental protection, said Guan Qingyou, an economist at Minsheng Securities.
This will mainly rely on innovation, especially the introduction of emerging industries like new energy and the digital economy, he told the Global Times on Wednesday, noting the province should give full play to the power of enterprises.
“As one important advantage of Hainan’s opening-up is ecological products, we will put more effort into protecting our environment,” said Governor Shen.
He also announced at the session that the province plans to use only newenergy vehicles in the island by 2030.
“As far as China or the world as a whole is concerned, [Hainan] is a platform, a window and a bridge.” Zhang Yansheng Research fellow with the China Center for International Economic Exchange