HAIKOU /China/, December 12. /TASS/. The total volume of foreign trade turnover of the southern Chinese province of Hainan for January - November 2023 exceeded the figure for the whole 2022, according to Haikou City Customs data.
In the first 11 months of 2023, the foreign trade volume reached 210.1 billion yuan ($29.5 billion). The corresponding figure went up 15.5% year-on-year. During the period, exports from the province totaled 66.83 billion yuan ($9.4 billion), an increase of 4.3%. As for imports, they rose 21.6% to 143.31 billion yuan ($20.1 billion).
Hainan's key trading partners for January-November included ASEAN countries, the EU and Australia. The province's trade turnover with them reached 32.6 billion yuan ($4.5 billion), 25.7 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) and 27.8 billion yuan ($3.9 billion) respectively.
The top three cities with the highest foreign trade volume in the province were Danzhou, Haikou and Sanya. Their foreign trade volume totaled 98.2 billion yuan ($13.8 billion), 71.2 billion yuan ($10 billion) and 22.3 billion yuan ($3.1 billion). The respective figures rose 15.2%, 29.1% and 13.8% year-on-year.
A project to build a free trade port is currently underway in Hainan. Its program was presented in June 2020. It envisages turning the island into a special customs zone. The country's government expects to generally complete the creation of a free port by 2025, when the island is expected to have a system for ensuring free trade and investment.
By 2035 the free port and its model will take a more mature shape. Hainan will have free trade and investment, cross-border capital flows, travel, and freight transportation by that time.