Hainan prepares for Customs transition

Hainan province in South China is accelerating preparations for a major economic transition in decades, as Hainan Free Trade Port moves to commence special Customs operations in December and deepen its opening to global markets.

"A more open Hainan now stands in the global spotlight. The port has entered a new phase where its framework is taking shape and island-wide special Customs operations are approaching — a preliminary policy and institutional system for the FTP is already in place," said Wang Bin, head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China's Hainan Provincial Committee.

Cong Jinsong, deputy director of Hainan Development and Reform Commission, said the province will build a modern industrial system tailored to its strengths, ensure smooth Customs operations, and improve livelihoods through development. The State Council has announced that island-wide special Customs operations will begin on Dec 18.

The province has rolled out core rules covering lists of taxable import goods, the list of prohibited and restricted goods and articles for import and export, special Customs supervision and an import tariff exemption policy for products with no less than 30 percent added value after processing. The first 31 special Customs operations projects have been completed, and infrastructure at eight open ports and 10 second-line Customs ports is largely ready.

The Hainan FTP Smart Customs Supervision Platform is online to support "zero-tariff" trade and processing-value-added sales. As of end-August, three of 44 key tasks were finished, with the rest on track.

The FTP is already pulling in capital and trade. Over the past five years, Hainan attracted 102.5 billion yuan ($14.41 billion) in actual foreign investment, growing at an average 14.6 percent annually, with investors from 176 countries and regions. Visa-free access has expanded to 85 countries, and partnerships have been formed with 39 overseas free-trade zones and ports.

Since January, imports under Hainan's "zero-tariff" lists have surged 86.4 percent year-on-year to 2.5 billion yuan, saving 518 million yuan in taxes. Service imports and exports jumped 23.2 percent. Trade with Africa rose 11.4 percent, and with the Middle East, 3.8 percent. Domestic processing-value-added sales hit 3.7 billion yuan, three times last year's figure.

More than 480 multifunctional Electronic Fence accounts for the Hainan FTP have been launched, with cumulative fund inflows and outflows exceeding 170 billion yuan.

EF accounts are versatile free-trade accounts that have financial institutions offering separate accounting services for both local and overseas currency accounts with consistent rules.

The province's GDP reached 370.2 billion yuan in the first half, with industrial value-added up 11.4 percent year-on-year, topping the nation for four straight months.

Ma Mengmeng contributed to this story.