BEIJING, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- South China's Hainan Province will focus on three major industries including tourism, service industry and high-tech industry, to substantially relax market access for foreign investment, in the process of building itself as a pilot free trade zone (FTZ), China Securities Journal quoted Cao Xiaolu, an expert of the Hainan University, as saying on Wednesday.
China rolled out a plan on Tuesday for establishing its southern island province of Hainan as a pilot FTZ, a major step that demonstrates its resolution to further open up and promote economic globalization.
Cao said that the Hainan FTZ covers the entire island of Hainan, which is 26 times the total area of the 11 free trade zones previously approved by the Chinese authorities. It is also the only free trade port to be built in the country.
Unlike other domestic FTZs, Hainan FTZ shall focus on tourism, modern service industry and high-tech industry, instead of the re-export trade and processing and manufacturing, Cao added.
He believed that this puts higher requirements for the development of Hainan FTZ as the free trade ports including Hong Kong, Singapore, and Dubai started from processing trade and re-export trade before their transformation and upgrading to eye modern service industry. (Edited by Hu Pingchao, hupingchao@xinhua.org)
A single purchase
