SANYA, August 4. /TASS/. The foreign trade turnover of Hainan's Sanya over January-June amounted to 4.39 billion yuan (about $ 630 million), which is by 19% more compared to the same period last year, reported the Sanya Daily newspaper citing the local customs office.
Over the six months of 2020, Sanya imported goods and services worth 4.18 billion yuan (approximately $ 600 million), and exported 210 million yuan (about $ 30 million). At the same time, in the first half of the year, exports fell by 22.3%, while imports increased by 22.3%. This city, which maintains commercial relations with 69 countries, accounted for 11% of the total foreign trade turnover of Hainan Province.
According to the customs office, most of Sanya's commercial transactions with foreign partners were carried out in the second quarter of 2020 - amid an improving epidemiological situation and the resumption of economic activity in China. The city's exports and imports totaled 3 billion yuan (about $ 428 million) between April and June.
The volume of Hainan's foreign trade turnover in 2019 amounted to 90.5 billion yuan (about $ 13.3 billion), which is by 6.8% more than in 2018. The cities of Danzhou, Haikou and Sanya had the highest figures last year: 41 billion yuan ($ 6 billion), 33.1 billion yuan ($ 4.8 billion) and 9.7 billion yuan ($ 1.4 billion), respectively.
About Hainan's free trade port
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.
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.