HAIKOU /China/, October 20. /TASS/. Trade turnover in the southern Chinese province of Hainan amounted to 101.35 billion yuan (about $15.83 billion at the current exchange rate) in January - September this year, which is up 60.4% year-on-year, the Haikou Customs Administration (provincial capital) reports.

According to a document on the official website of the agency, exports of Hainan grew 27.5% and up 24.1 billion yuan (about $3.76 billion) in the first three quarters of this year. Imports reached 77.25 billion yuan (about $12.07 billion), up 74.4% over the same period last year.

Hainan's foreign trade turnover increased 3% to 93.3 billion yuan (about $14.6 billion at the exchange rate at the time of publication).

On June 1, 2020, the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council of China published a program creating the Hainan free trade port. The document covers the creation of a special customs zone on this tropical island. The Chinese authorities intend to generally complete the free port’s construction in 2025 - by that time, the island should have a mechanism in place to ensure open trade and investment. By 2035, the authorities plan to secure free trade and investment, cross-border movement of capital, entry and exit of people, and freight traffic in Hainan.