Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025 was held in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, marking the largest summit in the SCO's history.

In recent years, Hainan has attached great importance to cooperation and exchanges with SCO countries, leveraging the province’s unique advantages to promote cooperation with Central Asian countries across multiple sectors, assisting in the development of the shared future of the China-Central Asia community.

Tourism: Complementary Advantages Lead to Better Cooperation

Hainan’s tropical beauty is highly complementary to the snow-capped mountains and grasslands of Central Asia, and the province’s sunny beaches have made the island a popular winter vacation destination for Central Asian travelers. Hainan frequently holds tourism promotion events, including a conference held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan on July 23, which focused on direct flights as well as health and wellness travel products.

Currently, there are two direct flights between Hainan and Kazakhstan: Almaty-Sanya and Astana-Sanya. Hainan has also signed a number of cooperation intention agreements with tourism and aviation companies in SCO countries to jointly develop multi-stop tours combining the romance of the Silk Road culture with the perfect island vacation destination. In the future, Hainan will formulate a special development plan for the Central Asian source market, increase the number of flights to Central Asia, and launch special tourism products such as TCM health & wellness and tropical vacation packages.

Health: Major TCM Cooperation Breakthroughs

Hainan is developing as a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) center and expanding cooperation with SCO countries. From January to July 2025, the Sanya Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine welcomed approximately 6,000 patients from outside China, a 45% increase over the same period in 2024.

Next, Hainan plans to formulate international standards and service specifications for TCM, and establish a talent training mechanism for international cooperation in the field.

Expanding Economic & Trade Networks

Hainan's cooperation with SCO countries in the fields of economy, trade, and investment continues to strengthen. In July 2025, Hainan signed an MOU with the Association of Participants of Special Economic Zones of Kazakhstan (SezUnion), establishing the first free trade zone (port) partnership in Central Asia and promoting cross-border cooperation and institutional exchange between industrial parks. With the signing, SezUnion becomes the Hainan Free Trade Port’s 41st partner within the Global Free Trade Zones (Ports) Partnership Initiative framework.

Hainan also collaborates with SCO countries via cultural exchange, with two pairs of provincial-level sister cities and nine international friendly exchange partners already in place. Youth representatives from SCO countries visited Hainan through the "Jointly Building an Open World Economy - 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Youth Committee Hainan Tour", enhancing their understanding of an open China and the "Shanghai Spirit."

In the future, Hainan will also establish a Central Asia Youth Exchange Program and an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fund to promote interaction among young talents in education, culture and science, and technology. The province will support Hainan University and other institutions as they deepen cooperation with universities in SCO countries through the Chinese Bridge program, summer schools, exchange programs, and other activities, and hold high-level academic events to promote mutual exchange visits among experts and mutual understanding between different peoples.