A view of Sanya Bay in Hainan province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Hainan will introduce measure that centers on zero tariffs on goods in steps and phases to enable the free flow of trade, said a senior official from the Ministry of Finance.

"Before the island-wide customs clearance operation in 2025, some imported goods are exempted from import duty, value-added tax and consumption tax," Zou Jiayi, vice-minister of Finance, told a news conference held in Beijing. "After that, goods outside the imported taxable commodities will be exempted from import duties."

According to her, Hainan Free Trade Port will establish a zero-tariff negative list and three positive lists, with a key focus on supporting high-tech, ecological and environmental protection and specialty industries. More efforts will also be made to gradually shorten the negative list and expand positive lists in the future.