The event gathered former senior foreign officials who closely followed China's development, as well as leaders, well-known experts and scholars from relevant fields in China, including Huang Qifan, executive deputy director of the Academic Committee of the National Innovation and Development Strategy Research Association and former mayor of Chongqing; Ong Tee Keat, former Malaysian Minister of Transport and president of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Caucus for Asia Pacific; Sun Dahai, member of the Party Leadership Group and deputy director of the Standing Committee of Hainan Provincial People's Congress; Antony Leung, Chairman of Hong Kong Nan Fung Group and former Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong SAR; Feng Bowen, President of the China-Australia Chamber of Commerce; Vaughn Barber, chair of the China-Australia Chamber of Commerce and more.
Hainan FTP has a strategic mandate to pilot institutional innovation, drive industrial upgrading, and support national priorities. Its policy incentives and strategic location can inject fresh momentum into China's high‑quality growth and position Hainan as a vital hub linking China to global trade networks and a model for regional integration and cooperation with Global South countries.
Participants emphasized that Hainan's future development should be led by institutionalized openness and focus on emerging sectors such as services trade, digital trade, and the green economy. By coordinating with the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area and deepening ties with Belt and Road countries and Global South nations, Hainan is to build a multi‑tiered, multidimensional opening framework; adopt international best practices to improve the business environment and reduce hidden costs; attract top global talent and capital; and establish a modern industrial system led by producer/business services and supported by advanced manufacturing.
Guests also expressed their expectations for Hainan to take the implementation of customs-bonded ("sealed-port") operations as an opportunity to build a benchmark of global free trade ports, contributing to China's modernization and the transformation of the global governance landscape.
SOURCE 2025 Understanding China Conference
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