This year marks the first year since the Hainan Free Trade Port was officially established. How will the Free Trade Port embark on a new journey of development? How can various industries seize the new opportunities presented by the Free Trade Port policies after its establishment? Follow our reporter to see the bustling activity in Hainan.
At the start of 2026, Hainan has already opened nearly 100 key projects to the public, covering all 18 cities and counties in Hainan.
CCTV reporter Dong Bin: From the sign-in sheet, we found that not only were there local Hainan companies, but also many from other provinces. And from the project brochure, we found projects including low-altitude economy and urban renewal.
He Guanghui, Vice Chairman of iSpace, stated: "The nation has designated Wenchang, Hainan as a commercial space launch base. The Free Trade Port will undoubtedly give it wings, and we anticipate needing to invest another 1 to 1.5 billion yuan over the next two to three years."
The strong investment enthusiasm of enterprises has made local industrial parks highly sought after.
Cong Jingsong, Deputy Director of the Hainan Provincial Development and Reform Commission: This year's matchmaking event was arranged early at the beginning of the year, three months earlier than before, to help more enterprises seize the development opportunities of the free trade port after its closure. We have also specifically selected high-quality projects from Hainan's key development areas during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. We expect the total investment of the cooperative projects to exceed 45 billion yuan.
Policy dividends unleash the benefits of Hainan Free Trade Port, leading to a surge in both industry and consumption.
In Hainan, the matchmaking events held at the beginning of the year attracted a steady stream of new partners. For many long-time friends of the free trade port, a series of preferential policies have also brought new opportunities, and various sectors are showing a vibrant new atmosphere.
At a meat processing company in Yangpu, Hainan, bones are continuously fed onto the production line for processing. Liu Peng, the company's manager, told reporters that due to a significant increase in orders, they were even working overtime during the recent New Year holiday.
Liu Peng said that after the entire island of Hainan Free Trade Port is sealed off, the added value of upstream and downstream enterprises can be accumulated. As long as the added value of goods reaches 30%, they will be exempt from import duties when entering the mainland. This means that the original production waste, such as bone and meat residue, can be "turned into treasure" and provided to downstream fertilizer companies, so that everyone can share the benefits of the new policy.
Finding downstream partners for businesses has become the top priority for the Yangpu Management Committee since the beginning of the new year. Feng Nan, the coordinator for enterprise services related to the implementation of the Free Trade Port policies, has her notebook filled with the supply chains of different types of enterprises. She says that more and more companies are now consulting her, and she reviewed their needs again after New Year's Day in order to help them find partners more quickly.
To date, Danzhou Yangpu has attracted more than 20 enterprises to settle in the area, relying on the tariff-free policy for processing and value-added domestic sales.
During interviews, reporters found that since Hainan's border closure, various sectors have ushered in new opportunities. In Haikou, Sanya, and other places, the number of tourists has surged. Data from online travel platforms shows that in the first week of the new year, inbound tourists to Sanya and Haikou increased by 28% and 15% respectively, with niche destinations experiencing even greater growth than in previous years. Travelers from countries such as South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia have become the main source of inbound tourists to Hainan.
Xu Shili, Deputy General Manager of Sanya Luhuitou Tourism Development Co., Ltd.: During the New Year's Day holiday, the number of visitors to the scenic area increased by more than 27% year-on-year, which boosted the overall revenue of sightseeing bus tickets, catering and other businesses by 36% year-on-year, achieving a "double increase" in visitor flow and operating income, and strengthening our confidence in the continued growth of visitor flow in the future.
Consumers flocked to the duty-free shops. Statistics from Haikou Customs show that in the first seven days of the Lunar New Year, duty-free shopping in Hainan reached 1.21 billion yuan, an increase of 88% year-on-year, with 149,000 shoppers, an increase of 38.3% year-on-year.
Hou Xiaofei, Marketing Director of Haikong Global Premium Duty-Free City: We are seeing an increasing number of tourists from Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe. We have also increased our inventory of newly added products such as musical instruments, drones, pet supplies, and cosmetics by about 10% compared to the same period last year. With the Spring Festival approaching and the peak consumption season arriving, we are even more confident.
According to data from Haikou Customs, since the customs closure, 4,396 new foreign trade enterprises have been registered in Hainan; in 2025, more than 30,000 new foreign trade enterprises were registered, representing a year-on-year increase of over 40%.
Entering the new year, with the support of new policies, many companies are gearing up to sign new orders, increase investment, and expand production capacity.
Jiang Ganlin, General Manager of Baiwei Gene Biotechnology (Hainan) Co., Ltd.: Leveraging the policies of the Hainan Free Trade Port, we have already introduced advanced biomedical technology and equipment worth over 5 million yuan, saving us nearly one million yuan. In the future, we will further expand our investment scale in the Hainan Free Trade Port. We expect to have cooperative projects worth over 20 million yuan implemented this year, giving us greater room for development.
Liao Huajun, a coffee grower in Xinglong, Hainan: We will have fully developed our brand marketing models by 2026. If our business license is approved on the same day that Hainan is officially opened for business, we will grow together with the free trade port.
