BEIJING, April 11. /TASS/. South China's Hainan Province will boost imports of duty-free goods after transitioning to a new offshore customs model in 2025, according to Guan Jirong, deputy secretary-general of the Communist Party of China Hainan Provincial Committee and executive deputy director of the Office of the Hainan Free Trade Port Working Committee.
"Under free and optimized trade, Hainan will import more and more duty-free goods," he told TASS at a press conference in Beijing, responding to a question about the prospects for the transition to a new customs operation regime in 2025.
According to the official, this model will allow consumers to "take even greater advantage" of the local market. Guan Jirong noted that the provincial authorities plan to create favorable conditions and are gradually removing restrictions on foreigners wishing to find work in Hainan. The authorities expect that as a result, the inflow of qualified specialists to the island from abroad will increase.
The official clarified that the efforts to shift to more open free trade port arrangements and the fulfillment of related tasks are being ensured "in full force." The official expressed confidence that with the joint efforts of Hainan's competent agencies, China's southernmost province will be able to utilize this format of customs control in accordance with the central government's requirements within the scheduled timeframe.
According to the official plan, Hainan will shift to an offshore trade and economic development model in 2025, and the province's customs control offices will no longer operate in their present format. All necessary conditions for this have already been created, and in the near future the authorities plan to agree on minor details of the new mechanism. Residents of the island will be categorized as a population of a territory with a special legal status different from other regions of mainland China.