HAIKOU, July 7. /TASS/. The Hainan authorities signed a series of agreements on the development of trade and economic ties with a number of European states,reported the Hainan Daily newspaper.
According to the news outletn, the province's Office for International Economic Development has signed a letter of intent with the business associations of Russia, Britain, Denmark, Portugal, France and Germany. According to the agreements, the parties will exchange important information, hold joint exhibitions, coordinate measures to stimulate the growth of mutual trade and investment.
As the Hainan administration clarified, in the past, similar documents on cooperation were signed by representatives of government and business circles of the province and several Asian states, including India, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Uzbekistan, and Japan. "Thus our region establishes strategic ties with the outside world. <...> Last month, we officially launched the development program of Hainan's free trade port, in accordance with which the formation and strengthening of mutually beneficial contacts at the level of unions of entrepreneurs and regional organizations is observed," explained a representative of the department.
According to the official, the Hainan leadership pays close attention to both attracting foreign investors and the development of foreign markets by the national business. “Thus, Hainan creates many favorable opportunities for the whole world,” the official stressed. He specified that among the most promising areas of cooperation for intensive work out are high technologies, tourism, financial sector, environmental projects, public education, transport communications and logistics.
“We see great potential, which is important, and we will actively use the existing opportunities, as well as channels of cooperation both at the intergovernmental level and in the cooperation between certain industries and enterprises,” the representative of the department added.
Earlier, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Сhinese State Council published the “General Program for the Establishment of a Free Port on Hainan,” according to which the island’s administration intends to create an effective system to fulfill a number of important social and economic goals by 2025, and within 10 years to decisively enhance the innovative mechanisms for the region's development.