HAIKOU /China/, August 21. /At least 150 people took part in the first International Young Talents Forum in Hainan, which was held on August 16 in Haikou city (the administrative center of the province), the Hainan Daily newspaper reported.
According to the newspaper, the event was attended by representatives of Cambridge University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Macau University of Science and Technology, Hainan University and other educational institutions. In addition, the forum was attended by representatives of the Association of European and American Graduates, the Hainan Alumni Association of Macau University of Science and Technology and other organizations.
According to the newspaper, the forum sought to attract young talents from leading foreign universities, youth representatives, activists and professionals from Hong Kong and Macau to familiarize themselves with Hainan Free Trade Port and participate in its establishment, as well as to develop a talent pool of highly qualified free trade port staff and improve the port's international image.
A series of presentations on the potential of the free trade port were held on the margins of the forum, the Hainan Zhibao wrote. Hainan Provincial Bureau of International Economic Development, the administration of Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City in Sanya, Hainan University, and Yangpu Economic Development Zone Investment Promotion Center talked about industry, trade, education and other fields.
Chen Qingcai, Ph.D., chairman of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association of Cambridge University, was quoted by the newspaper as saying that the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port is a milestone of China's economic openness and all-round deepening of reform in the new era. He emphasized that there are great development prospects behind it, which require the participation and efforts of the younger generation.
The paper also noted that the Hong Kong and Macau Youth Center for Innovative Entrepreneurship in Hainan signed cooperation agreements with the Chinese Students and Scholars Association of Cambridge University and the Hainan Alumni Association of Macau University of Science and Technology following the forum.
Free Trade Port
On June 1, 2020, the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council of China published a program creating the Hainan free trade port. The document covers the creation of a special customs zone on this tropical island. The Chinese authorities intend to generally complete the free port’s construction in 2025 - by that time, the island should have a mechanism in place to ensure open trade and investment. By 2035, the authorities plan to secure free trade and investment, cross-border movement of capital, travel, and freight traffic in Hainan.