BOAO, Hainan, March 27 (Xinhua) -- At the southern tip of China, the tropical island province of Hainan looks toward Southeast Asia across the South China Sea. A longtime frontier in China's opening-up drive, it is even more so today.

The Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), the world's largest free trade port by area, marks the 100th day of island-wide special customs operations on Friday, the launch of which represented a milestone in the FTP's journey toward becoming a world-class, high-level free trade port.

The 100-day mark also coincides with the ongoing Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2026, held in the province. As the forum championing openness and win-win development draws global attention to Hainan, the FTP's landmark progress offers clues to China's unwavering opening-up initiatives amid a world shattered by geopolitical tensions and rising protectionism.

Island-wide special customs operations were launched in the Hainan FTP, making it an important gateway leading China's opening up in the new era, noted Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, in his keynote speech delivered at the plenary of the BFA annual conference on Thursday.

Carl F. Fey, professor of strategy at BI Norwegian Business School, told Xinhua that while some countries are imposing steep tariffs to stay competitive, China is taking the opposite approach by encouraging tariff-free trade in Hainan. "It sets up an interesting natural experiment to see which approach works better. I expect Hainan's free trade approach will win."

Once an underdeveloped frontier outpost, Hainan became China's largest special economic zone in 1988. Even bigger dreams have since been envisioned for this strategically located island. A master plan released in 2020 charted a three-step course toward transforming the island into a "globally influential, high-level free trade port" by mid-century. The launch of island-wide special customs operations marked the fulfillment of the first step designated for the 2025 timeframe.

POLICIES TAKE EFFECT

Policies are taking effect as intended, and the vitality of the FTP has been unleashed, noted Cai Qiang, spokesperson for the Hainan government, at a press conference held on the sidelines of the annual conference of the BFA on Thursday.

At the heart of the policies, the scope of "zero-tariff" products in the Hainan FTP has expanded from 1,900 to approximately 6,600 tariff lines. As the 2025 edition of China's import and export tariff catalog included about 8,960 tariff lines in total, the share of zero-tariff products in the Hainan FTP has surged to approximately 74 percent of all taxable items.

Tallying initial outcomes achieved during the first 100 days of island-wide special customs operations, Cai noted that the FTP's total import and export value exceeded 80 billion yuan (about 11.6 billion U.S. dollars) during this period, up 32.9 percent year on year. Notably, 186 zero-tariff transactions were conducted, involving goods worth nearly 1.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year surge of 146 percent. Duties exempted totaled 271 million yuan.

Following the launch of island-wide special customs operations, the Hainan FTP now has eight open ports and 10 second-line customs ports, meaning the tropical island, spanning over 30,000 square kilometers, has officially become a special customs supervision zone.

While open ports allow freer trade between Hainan and areas outside China's customs borders, second-line customs ports enforce standard customs controls for goods moving from Hainan to the mainland.

Moreover, zero-tariff goods processed in Hainan may be sold to the mainland duty-free if their local processing generated an added value of 30 percent or more, according to the policies of the Hainan FTP.

Following the launch of island-wide special customs operations, value-added goods processed in the Hainan FTP and sold to the Chinese mainland duty-free amounted to 314 million yuan, with duty exemptions reaching over 15.58 million yuan, according to data cited by Cai.

"This is one of the policies I pay most attention to," Jack Perry, chairman of The 48 Group in Britain, said when joining a panel discussion at BFA, referring to the policy concerning processed value-added goods. Such preferential policies will make infrastructure and supply chains here more attractive, Perry noted. "This is the real opportunity for growth."

DRAWING INVESTORS

The FTP has become a magnet for numerous foreign-funded enterprises drawn by its brisk development, Cai said at the press conference. Since the landmark milestone last December, the FTP has added 737 foreign-funded enterprises, marking year-on-year growth of 33.5 percent.

Fey noted that this set of policies makes Hainan particularly attractive for companies seeking to import raw materials, manufacture locally, and export finished goods to other countries.

Siemens Energy is a foreign-funded company casting its vote of confidence. On Dec. 18, 2025, the very first day of the landmark move, Siemens Energy broke ground on a gas turbine assembly base and service center in Hainan, establishing Siemens Energy (Hainan) Co. Ltd, which is poised to manufacture gas turbines locally. The project benefits from the zero-tariff policy for importing components that it assembles, Fey commented.

Li Rui, deputy general manager of the energy development department at Yangpu International Investment Consulting Co., Ltd., has been involved in bringing the project into fruition. Although Siemens Energy initially worried about Hainan's relatively weak industrial foundation and supply chain challenges, the FTP's open policies and strategic location ultimately won them over, Li recalled.

Following the landmark move, meanwhile, RichL Hospital (Singapore), Hainan's first wholly foreign-owned hospital, has been approved to operate.

INSTITUTIONAL OPENING UP

The policy and institutional framework of the Hainan FTP, characterized by zero tariffs, low tax rates, the free and convenient flow of trade, investment, capital and personnel, as well as the secure and orderly flow of data, has been further strengthened, Feng Fei, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Hainan provincial committee, noted in his address at a BFA forum, reflecting on progress since the milestone move.

Cao Yuanzheng, an economist involved in the mapping of Hainan's development plan, noted that Hainan stands out as the only free trade port among China's 22 pilot free trade zones, operating under higher standards of openness. "The standards are themselves a form of institution," Cao said, while attending a BFA panel discussion.

As China transitions from opening-up based on the flow of production factors to institution-based opening-up -- anchored in rules, regulations and standards, Cao expressed hope that Hainan will set a benchmark and lead China's opening-up to new heights.

"With the certainty of institutional openness, we can add greater stability to the global economy and cope with the uncertain world," he concluded.