On October 12, Feng Fei, Secretary of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee, and Liu Xiaoming, Governor of Hainan Province, met with representatives from foreign free zones attending the 11th World Free Zones Organization (FZO) World Congress in Haikou.

Participants included Reza Masrour, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Free Trade, Industrial and Special Economic Zones of Iran, Sheikh Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy, Chairman of the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones of Oman, Hossam Heiba, CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones of Egypt, Daniel Liranzo, Executive Director of the National Council of Free Trade Zones of the Dominican Republic, Mary Awusi, CEO of the Ghana Free Zones Authority, Kelli-Dawn Hamilton, CEO of the Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority, Jasmina Stambuck, Director of the Free Zones Administration of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia, Angelica Pena Preciado, Executive Director of the Free Trade Zones Chamber ANDI of Columbia, Olufemi A. Ogunyemi, Managing Director of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, and Helson Braga, President of ABRAzpe (Brazilian Association of Export Processing Zones), among others.

On behalf of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee and the People’s Government of Hainan Province, Feng Fei and Liu Xiaoming extended a warm welcome to the delegates and briefed them on the open policies and the high-quality development progress of the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP).

Feng Fei noted that free zones represent some of the most dynamic driving forces of today’s global economic growth. He emphasized that this year’s congress brought together free zone representatives from around the world to discuss cooperation and development, providing an important platform for experience sharing and regulatory alignment among global free zones.

Located at the crossroads of Chinese mainland and Southeast Asia, two of the most vibrant markets in the world, Hainan enjoys exceptional advantages under China’s opening up policies. The province is aligning itself with high-standard international economic and trade rules, accelerating the construction of the “two bases, two hubs, and two networks” to build a high-standard, high-quality FTP with Chinese characteristics, striving to become a key gateway for China’s opening up in the new era.

The Hainan FTP is scheduled to officially launch island-wide special customs operations on December 18 this year, creating vast development opportunities. Feng expressed his hope that, through platforms such as the World FZO congress, Hainan could deepen rule alignment, strengthen experience exchange, and build closer partnerships with free zones globally to advance pragmatic cooperation projects and share development opportunities with the world.

Representatives from the participating free zones introduced their respective development progress and highly commended the remarkable achievements of the Hainan FTP.

They noted that global free zones are paying close attention to Hainan’s development, particularly its upcoming island-wide special customs operations. The representatives expressed their wish to take this opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Hainan’s open policies, establish closer cooperative ties, and strengthen mutual learning and exchange.

They also voiced their intention to explore new cooperation opportunities with Hainan, including in trade and investment, international shipping, technological innovation, new energy, and cultural exchanges, joining hands to expand broader international markets and jointly promote the green transformation and sustainable development of free zones worldwide.