Tourists in Qionghai, Hainan province, April 4 Photo: VCG
China is set to announce soon a series of policy measures for the Hainan Free Trade Port, including a reduced negative list for cross-border trade in services, aimed at further opening up a wide range of sectors for foreign companies, including including energy, power, electronics and machinery, officials said Monday.
A draft negative list has been completed and corresponding procedures are underway, and 28 measures to further promote trade liberalization and facilitation will be released “in the coming days,” said Wang Shouwen, vice minister of trade, at a press conference. In Beijing.
“The 28 measures include the easing of import and export qualifications and the management of quantities of crude oil, refined petroleum products, sugar and other commodities in some regions, and the abolition of the management of import licensing of mechanical and electrical products, “said Wang.
He noted that the documents relating to the measures were drafted and approved by the Council of State, the cabinet of the nation. A draft negative list of cross-border trade in services for the Hainan Free Trade Port has also been completed.
The list will be continuously reduced, Cong Liang, a senior official of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the press conference, adding that more industries and fields will be included in the list of encouraged industries.
Analysts said that the forthcoming support measures will further promote the opening and development of many sectors in Hainan, attracting more domestic and foreign resources.
“Hainan is an important battleground for China’s continued high-level opening up. In the beginning, the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port received broad political support. Measures and policies should support the opening and development of many sectors in Hainan, which will promote economies of scale, â€Tao Jin, analyst at the Suning Financial Research Institute, told the Global Times on Monday.
To attract more foreign investment to Hainan, the negative list should be strictly enforced to speed up free trade, Tao added.
“Today’s press conference set the development direction of the Hainan Free Trade Port, with modern services and advanced technology as key areas,” Zhou Maohua, analyst at Everbright Bank said Monday. , to the Global Times.
In addition to facilitating market access for foreign companies, Hainan will also focus on strengthening its local industries, including tourism and consumption, officials said.
“We duly adjusted the tax exemption policy last year to bring foreign consumption back to China,†Hainan Party leader Shen Xiaoming said Monday at the press conference.
Sales of duty-free products doubled to 30 billion yuan ($ 4.6 billion) in 2020 as of 2019 and sales are expected to reach 60 billion yuan this year, according to Shen.