Good news recently arrived for Piao Huiling, an employee at the South Korea's Dong-A Pharmaceutical Hainan branch. Her company's dedicated "enterprise secretary" service provided a helpful list of recommended contract manufacturers.
This personalized support is part of Hainan Province's push to create a better business environment. Since the launch of island-wide independent customs operations at Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) on December 18 last year, Haikou, the provincial capital, has continued refining this tailored "enterprise secretary" service, offering customized assistance to businesses. Across the free trade port, the conditions for enterprise development are steadily improving.
March 27 marked the first 100 days of the new customs arrangement. The results are promising: policies are taking effect, development is speeding up, and the region is opening up further.
Containers are stacked at a terminal of Yangpu Port, a vital port of the Hainan Free Trade Port. (Photo: People's Daily)
During this period, offshore duty-free sales hit 15.62 billion yuan (about $2.26 billion), up nearly 28 percent year on year. Total foreign trade exceeded 80 billion yuan, growing by almost 33 percent. The new customs status gives Hainan a stronger foundation for deeper and broader economic opening.
The benefits are already visible. Take customs clearance, for example: On March 16, a batch of food processing equipment cleared customs smoothly at Sanya Customs under Haikou Customs. "Companies no longer need to submit import licenses. With Hainan FTP’s smart supervision platform, declarations can be completed seamlessly," said Gan Jiayong, deputy head of Sanya Customs. He added that customs authorities will continue ensuring that opening-up policies are implemented effectively.
Hainan is actively building a comprehensive policy and institutional framework for the FTP, aiming to create a special customs zone with strong international competitiveness.
Photo shows the wharf area of the Sanya International Yacht Center and Sanya Cruise Tourism Center. (Photo: People's Daily)
Progress extends beyond logistics. Late last year, Hainan launched China's first official passenger route operated under the Seventh Freedom of the Air, linking Sanya directly with Prague, Czechia.
"As of March 23, more than 1,700 passengers have traveled on the route," said He Bang, head of the Civil Aviation Office of the Hainan Provincial Department of Transport. In early February, Sanya Phoenix International Airport’s Terminal 3 officially began operations, further enhancing airport capacity. Sanya now operates 34 international routes, with international passenger throughput up 11.2 percent year on year.
Placing institutional innovation at the forefront, Hainan is working to foster a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized.
At the start of the island-wide independent customs operations, Hainan introduced the first batch of 72 high-quality projects open to private investment. Provincial development and reform authorities have established matchmaking platforms to address mismatches between capital and projects, ensuring that "funds can find projects, and projects can find funding."
Supportive government policies and an improved business environment have fueled strong investment enthusiasm. At Guoquan International Food Industrial Park in Danzhou, Hainan, construction of the first-phase project broke ground immediately after land was secured, with the second-phase land fully guaranteed and progress exceeding expectations.
Xiangqiong Sany(Hainan) Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park in Dongfang, Hainan has attracted around 30 advanced manufacturing enterprises, with a planned total investment of 13.92 billion yuan. Landmark foreign-invested projects by companies such as Germany's Siemens Energy and France's Mayoly, are also rapidly advancing.
The numbers tell the story: Since the customs operation began, 85,000 new market entities have been registered in Hainan, a year-on-year increase of nearly 40 percent.
On March 21, Hainan introduced 20 key measures to stabilize businesses and benefit enterprises, establishing a coordinated service system, promoting market-based allocation of production factors, and advancing the integration of innovation, industrial, capital and talent chains.
The appeal of FTP policies is turning into a driving force for high-quality development. Hainan is building a modern industrial system tailored to its unique features and strengths, continuously upgrading its four pillar industries: tourism, modern services, high-tech industries and efficient tropical agriculture. The province is also fostering and expanding distinctive industrial chains in seed production, the marine economy, aerospace, green development and the digital economy, laying a solid foundation for FTP growth.
According to China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), the Hainan FTP will be developed to high standards, advancing high-level island-wide independent customs operations and steadily expanding trade, investment and production factor flows, while establishing policies and institutional frameworks aligned with a high-level FTP.
Today, Hainan is moving forward with greater determination to expand high-level opening up, cultivate new growth drivers, and unlock new domestic demand potential.