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Hainan boosting economic cooperation with ASEAN

By 2025, the Chinese government intends to create an "international center for tourism and consumption" on Hainan

HAIKOU, April 13. /TASS/. Since the beginning of 2020, China's Hainan Province has significantly increased cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member-states and continues to increase trade, economic and investment cooperation with them, according to the statement published on the website dedicated to Hainan's free trade zone and port.

It is noted that just in the first two months of 2020, Hainan’s trade with ASEAN exceeded 4.18 billion yuan ($ 594.5 million at the current exchange rate), an increase of 23.3% year on year. In particular, exports grew by 2.3 times to 2.19 billion yuan ($ 311.5 million), imports decreased by 18.3%, amounting to 1.99 billion yuan ($ 283 million). "The increase in trade occured mainly due to the exchange of traditional goods, the flow of duty-free products doubled," the authorities said.

According to official figures, in January-February, the province’s trade cooperation with Vietnam increased significantly. "This is Hainan’s biggest trading partner [among ASEAN countries], exports to Vietnam grew by 61.9% in two months, imports — by 30.9%," the authorities stated.

According to local customs, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei are actively involved in economic and trade cooperation with Hainan.

By 2025, the Chinese government intends to create an "international center for tourism and consumption" on Hainan. In order to do so, the "Eastern Hawaii" with their unique natural landscapes, thick rainforests and great climate will establish a developed network of hotels, which blend perfectly with white sandy beaches stretching along the coastline. The combination of an exotic subtropical nature and a modern eco-friendly infrastructure will boost tourist inflow to the island from the most distant parts of the world.

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