Hainan has sent officials to Germany, Japan and Hong Kong to seek trade orders and investment capital to prop up a sagging economy, the South China Morning Post has learned, as local governments in China rush to make similar moves. Hainan is sending officials led by Deputy Provincial Governor Ni Qiang to Germany for a five-day trip. The team is set to sign a contract with Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences to establish a vocational school in Hainan, covering around 100,000 square meters in the first phase. It will also visit local companies. “We are trying to expand the market for trade, and to tell global society that China is still open to the world,” Han Shengjian, Director General of of the Hainan Provincial Bureau of International Economic Development, said in an interview. The province is planning trips to other regions such as the United States, Southeast Asia, and a few other nations in Europe soon to promote business opportunities.
The trips came as a number of other provinces, including Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong and Sichuan, as well as cities including Ningbo and Jiaxing in Zhejiang have dispatched official delegations to European countries, Japan and Indonesia. Almost all of these groups are venturing beyond the Chinese mainland for the first time in three years after the recent loosening of Covid-19 restrictions. The rush underscores the need to revive trade and foreign investment. China’s exports and imports recorded big declines in November, as the world’s second-largest economy is forecast to miss its annual growth goal of around 5.5%. Hainan is making an all-out effort to accelerate its development and meet Chinese President Xi Jinping’s goal of becoming the largest free-trade port in the nation, with all goods becoming duty-free by 2025.
Hainan also dispatched a separate team to Japan for a 15-day trip starting on November 27, even before the recent removal of Covid-19 restrictions. The representatives discussed deeper collaboration with local governments in Japan and with local companies including Toyota Industries, Mizuho Bank and skincare and cosmetics company Kao Corporation. The province aims to build a cluster area for eight to 10 Japanese companies on the island, including projects to make batteries and components for Toyota electric vehicles.
In Hong Kong, Hainan has signed contracts with a few companies as it enhances collaboration with the city that provides around 78% of the total offshore investments, helped by former Chief Executive CY Leung. Leung held a video meeting with the delegation in Hong Kong and stressed that the city will act as a super connector to further expand collaboration between the two jurisdictions. Hong Kong-headquartered Swire Group is planning to establish a center in Hainan for its Coca-Cola business, which will locate its regional management team and set up production lines for its non-soda beverage business in the province, serving local citizens and travelers. Swire has also signed a partnership with China Duty Free Group to build a high-end shopping mall in Hainan, the South China Morning Post has learned. Accounting firm PwC, meanwhile, launched a training institute in Hainan with a 1 billion yuan investment, which aims to train staff and provide education on environmental, social and corporate governance, and digitalization.
With these efforts, Hainan aims to see its duty-free sales revenue surpass CNY60 billion next year, up from this year’s around CNY50 billion, after around CNY60 billion in 2021, the South China Morning Post reports.
