HAIKOU, March 16. /TASS/. More than 11,000 new companies registered in Hainan have received benefits thanks to the "zero tariffs" policy, which has been in effect since the southern Chinese province transitioned to a special customs regime at the end of December 2025, the ChinaNews outlet reported, citing CPC Hainan Provincial Committee Secretary Feng Fei.
According to the official, 653,000 international visitors passed through checkpoints at the Hainan Free Trade Port during this period, marking a 35.1% year-over-year increase. Of these, 158,000 entered the province under the visa-free regime. This figure rose by 53.7%.
During this period, 51,000 new business entities were registered, including 41,000 new enterprises, marking a 43.6% increase. The number of foreign companies and registered foreign trade enterprises rose by 30% and 74%, respectively.
Feng Fei noted that following the introduction of a special customs regime, Hainan has gained the conditions for further expanding openness, including trade and investment liberalization, harmonization of rules, norms, and standards, improvement of cross-border trade in services, development of offshore trade, and simplification of market access for foreign investors.
On December 18, 2025, China’s southernmost province of Hainan switched to a new customs regime. This means that the list of products exempt from import duties increased from 1,900 to 6,600 items, up to 74% of the total product range. These preferences apply to virtually all enterprises, institutions, and private non-profit organizations on the island with a genuine need for imports.