Hainan accelerates high-level opening-up, diplomats eye vast potential
Diplomats see vast potential for trade and investment cooperation across multiple sectors in South China’s Hainan Province as the island is accelerating its high-level opening-up on all fronts, following the conclusion of the 4th China International Consumer Products Expo and Boao Forum for Asia.
“We firmly believe that the potential for China-Belarus economic and trade cooperation is abundant,” Andrei Povov, consul general of the Consulate
General of the Republic of Belarus in Guangzhou, told the Global Times on Tuesday during an industrial tour of foreign diplomats to Hainan, noting that the two countries are aiming to “achieve an innovationdriven model of economic progress.”
The remarks came after a foreign investment policy briefing held by the Hainan Free Trade Port, which is speeding up preparations for independent customs operations in 2025 while taking steps to promote high-quality development, seeking its position at the forefront of China’s high-level opening-up.
“Hainan’s free trade policies represent an array of opportunities. China and Belarus are working in several directions together, such as food processing, medical substances and education projects,” Povov said.
Feng Fei, Party secretary of the Hainan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, said on Monday during a meeting with the visiting diplomats that the province has designated preparations for independent customs throughout the island by the end of 2025 as the local government’s top priority in 2024.
Located at the intersection of the two most dynamic markets – China and ASEAN – Hainan is becoming a pivotal hub for the two sides’ cooperation with its complete policy package of further opening-up, Parulian George Andreas Silalahi, minister of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in China, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
China’s strategy of high-level opening-up is mutually beneficial, providing vast potential for deepening China-Indonesia collaboration across diverse economic sectors, the minister said. “We have common interests and ample opportunities to trade and invest in sectors such as tourism, education, medical among others,” the minister noted.