HAIKOU /China/, April 18. /TASS/. South China's Hainan province plans to accelerate the implementation of digital technologies to ensure a more dynamic development of the regional free trade port. This was reported by the Hainan Daily.

According to the newspaper, the local government plans to use a special online platform, which operates in a one-stop-shop format and will greatly simplify the transition to new, more efficient mechanisms of data processing. In addition, this structure has become an important tool in expanding digital yuan to the broader population.

"We applied from a smartphone by going to the website of the [state] Haiyidui system, which serves companies according to the preferential policy. It turned out to be very convenient," Li Yiqing, CEO of Hainan Hailing Chemipharma, said. With the help of the platform, his company received a 9.5 million yuan grant (about $1.5 million at current exchange rates) for a pharmaceutical research project, the executive said. "This money is very important for our company, especially during a pandemic. Like long-awaited rain [during a drought]," Li Yiqing added.

Local authorities noted that the Hainan administration's working group on digitalization plans to improve the efficiency of the Haiyidui platform and ensure that it operates not only in the province, but also in other parts of China. By doing so, the government plans to form a more convenient and reliable innovation mechanism that will "continuously improve official services and public administration," improve the business atmosphere and quality of life for the people.

On April 13, 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the establishment of an experimental free trade zone and port on the island. The goal of the program is to bring Hainan into the process of globalization and international labor distribution, and to lay a solid foundation for innovation. The provincial government is creating an attractive environment for investors and creating a well-developed research infrastructure. According to the government's plan, by 2050 the region will become a unique cluster with an advanced economy, with campuses of leading universities, advanced laboratories and headquarters of leading multinational corporations.