China’s Hainan free-trade hub reinvents itself as Hong Kong’s rival – and partner

2026.03.20 09:50 A drone photo taken on February 21 shows tourists taking yachts in Sanya, south China’s Hainan province. Photo: Xinhua As Hainan pushes ahead with its free-trade port, the tropical island is emerging as a potential rival to Hong Kong’s long-standing role as a regional shopping and low-tax hub – even as both sides signal interest in closer cooperation. Since launching a separate customs regime three months ago, Hainan – now a gateway to the Chinese market – has positioned itself as a “super partner” to Hong Kong across industry chains, finance, tourism and other sectors, according to officials. “Hong Kong serves as the mainland’s ‘superconnector’, and the Hainan-Hong Kong partnership can be fully upgraded to that of ‘super partners’,” said Wang Bin, chief of the Hainan provincial government’s publicity department, citing their “highly complementary advantages”. Both economies – located in the South China Sea and close to Southeast Asian markets – offer corporate tax rates of 15 per cent. Long compared by market observers, they have now entered a phase of cooperative competition. Wang said Hainan aimed to tap Hong Kong’s strengths in talent, legal services and finance, noting that the city already accounts for more than 70 per cent of the island province’s foreign investment. He proposed a cross-border model of “orders in Hong Kong, production in Hainan and sales worldwide”, calling the island province an ideal hub to industrialise the city’s research capabilities. Wang also called for leveraging Hong Kong’s status as a global financial hub to attract international capital and route more foreign tourists to Hainan via the city, highlighting the island’s edge in offshore bond issuance over other mainland provinces. At the same event on Wednesday, Man Cheuk‑fei, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Journalists, said Hong Kong firms – especially in finance and professional services – were well placed to expand into Hainan, citing opportunities in

原文链接: 南华早报