China makes it easier for foreigners to operate in Hainan FTP

China has rolled out new measures to make it easier for overseas businesses and professionals to operate in the Hainan Free Trade Port, as part of efforts to further liberalize trade and support industrial upgrading, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

The 16-point package, jointly issued by the ministry and three other government departments, covers trade in goods and services, as well as emerging models of trade.

Huang Ling, a spokeswoman for the ministry, said the measures introduce new approaches to trade management, address business needs and advance high-standard opening-up in Hainan province, which launched island-wide special customs operations on Dec 18.

For goods trade, the package targets key industries, including automobiles and new petrochemical materials, with measures to improve customs supervision of bonded operations and support R&D and testing. These steps are intended to strengthen industrial and supply chains, according to the ministry.

In services, the package calls for further opening-up in healthcare and insurance, broader recognition of overseas professional qualifications and measures to make it easier for foreign nationals to enter Hainan and practice their professions.

The package also encourages the expansion of bonded maintenance and remanufacturing operations. It calls for deeper cooperation with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and more coordinated development between Hainan and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

"These measures will further improve the Hainan Free Trade Port's trade management and services and help upgrade related industries," Huang told a news conference in Beijing.

The ministry will work with other relevant departments and the Hainan provincial government to ensure the new measures are fully implemented, she added.