HAIKOU /China/, November 9. /TASS/. The southern Chinese province of Hainan will develop more effectively in the foreseeable future thanks to a system of institutional innovations, Pei Guangyi, professor at the School of Economics and Management at Hainan Normal University, said.
"In the future, Hainan's high-quality development will no longer rely on overlapping strategic measures, but rather on precise, systematic regulations that transform openness into sectoral growth. There will be a shift from strategic preferences to stimulation through institutional innovations," the ChinaNews outlet quoted the expert as saying. This shift is expected as the Chinese central government implements a new package of measures aimed at modernizing the structure of trade in goods, lifting restrictions on trade in services, and introducing new models to stimulate exports and imports.
According to the expert, the Hainan administration is, on the one hand, implementing measures aimed at expanding openness, and, on the other hand, purposefully reducing institutional costs. In this way, he noted, a comprehensive optimization of the process of "leveraging systemic advantages" is ensured based on changes since the province's transition to a new offshore model in December 2025.
In turn, Song Xiangqing, deputy head of the Commerce Economy Association of China, pointed out that, under the new customs system, Hainan has "clearly defined the rules for interregional trade," thereby reducing logistics costs. In addition, China’s southernmost province has "opened strategic channels for the flow of raw materials and finished products between the upstream and downstream segments of the production chain,” making it more attractive to manufacturing enterprises.
On December 18, 2025, Hainan transitioned to a new customs system under which the number of products exempt from import duties expanded from 1,900 to 6,600 items, accounting for 74% of the total product range. These preferences apply to virtually all enterprises, institutions, and private nonprofit organizations on the island that have a genuine need to import goods. Unlike cargo, all passenger traffic is subject to the previous regulations; individuals traveling to the island for business or tourism do not require additional documentation.