HAIKOU /China/, March 12. /TASS/. Hainan authorities plan to switch to a new offshore customs control model in 2024, in line with the outlined plan, said Nie Qiang, head of the Office of the Provincial Comprehensive Deepening Reform Commission.

"We are determined and confident that with the support of all layers of society, uniting the efforts of the whole province, we will ensure the closure of [traditional] customs control points (with the transition to a new offshore model - TASS) in accordance with the plan and requirements of the central government," he stressed during the 2nd session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC, Parliament) when responding to a journalist's inquiry on the progress made in the transition to the new customs regime, which is expected to start operating in Hainan by the end of 2025.

The official said the provincial administration will focus on forming autonomous mechanisms for the Hainan Free Trade Port in 2024. According to him, both the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council of the People's Republic of China are paying close attention to relevant issues.

Ni Qiang noted that over the past few years, Hainan's relevant government agencies have done a lot of work in this regard, implementing the program. He noted that this is the "number one project" and 2024 will be key to its realization.

According to the official plan, Hainan will shift to an offshore trade and economic development model in 2025, with the province's customs checkpoints ceasing to operate in their current capacity. All necessary conditions for this have already been created, and over the next year and a half, authorities plan to finalize minor details of the new mechanism. The islanders will be categorized as residents of a territory with a special legal status which differes from that of residents of mainland China.