China passes law on Hainan free trade port

Aerial photo taken on April 4, 2021 shows the construction site of Lingshui Li'an international education innovation pilot zone in Li'an peninsula of Lingshui Li Autonomous County, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

China on Thursday passed a law on the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), making institutional arrangements for the construction of the Hainan FTP at the national legislative level.

Analysts believe that the law will lay a solid legal foundation for the construction operations, ensuring Hainan's opening-up and development based on the rule of law.

The law clarifies that the Hainan FTP covers the whole island, and establishes policies and systems in steps or phases to realize the liberalization and facilitation of trade, investment, the cross-border flow of funds, personnel exit and entry, and transportation, and ensure the secure flow of data.

Hainan's natural environment is its greatest advantage, and its economic development must not be pursued at the expense of the environment. The law stipulates the strictest ecological and environmental protection system, implementing the one-vote veto system for environmental protection and lifelong accountability for damage to the ecological environment.

Last June, China released a master plan to build the island into a globally influential and high-level free trade port by the middle of the century.

"The law on Hainan free trade port transforms the decisions and arrangements of the Communist Party of China Central Committee into law. It is of vital importance to comprehensively deepening reform and advancing law-based governance," said Lyu Wei, a member of the 13th National People's Congress Standing Committee.

The world is facing a new round of major changes, with economic globalization encountering greater headwinds. However, China has never slowed its pace in pushing forward opening-up and promoting economic globalization.

The enactment of the Hainan FTP law demonstrates China's unswerving determination in broadening opening-up and building an open world economy, said an official with the legislative affairs commission of the NPC Standing Committee.

Hainan will establish a legal system based on the FTP law, and build a law-based government and a world-class legal environment, said Shen Xiaoming, Party chief of Hainan.

According to the law, Hainan can formulate regulations on the FTP construction in light of specific circumstances and actual needs, which means that Hainan is granted more legislative and reform autonomy.

"We are speeding up the local legislation, especially in key areas including bankruptcy, fair competition and commercial deregistration," said Hu Guanghui, deputy director of the Standing Committee of Hainan Provincial People's Congress.