HAIKOU /China/, October 14. /TASS/. The trade volume of the southern Chinese province of Hainan with the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) increased by 79.1% to 39.16 billion yuan (about $5.54 billion) in the first eight months of 2024, according to the Statistics Bureau of Haikou (the administrative center of Hainan Province).

The bureau reported that Hainan's trade volume with ASEAN countries accounted for 21.2% of the province's total foreign trade in the January-August period. Meanwhile, Hainan's imports reached 13.57 billion yuan ($1.92 billion). Exports to ASEAN countries totalled 25.59 billion yuan ($3.62 billion). The Chinese Province's main trading partners were Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

It should be noted that ASEAN is one of the main sources of agricultural imports for Hainan. For example, in January-August, the Chinese province imported agricultural products worth 2.48 billion yuan (about $351 million) from ASEAN countries, an increase of 28.3% compared to the same period in 2023.

On 1 June 2020, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council of the People's Republic of China issued a program for the establishment of the Hainan Free Trade Port. The document envisages the establishment of a special customs zone on the tropical island. The PRC authorities plan to complete the construction of the free port on the territory of the province in 2025, by which time the system of free trade and investment should be established on the island. By 2035, Hainan plans to ensure freedom of trade and investment, cross-border movement of capital, entry and exit of people and transport of goods.