Hainan's Sanya city boosts foreign trade 22.5-fold over 10 years of reforms

The resort city of Sanya on the southern coast of China's Hainan Island boosted its foreign trade volume more than 22.5 times in the last 10 years due to its policy of comprehensive reform deepening. According to the local statistics department, last year this figure exceeded 21.91 billion yuan (about $3.2 billion).

As commented by local authorities, Sanya has become much more open to economic interaction with other countries over this period. The city has almost doubled the volume of allocated foreign investment, which amounted to $452 million last year.

Government measures to remove trade barriers have played an important role in Sanya's development. Local companies got the opportunity to import duty-free equipment and a number of goods used for production purposes. In particular, the authorities allowed businesses to purchase recreational boats and vehicles from abroad, exempting importers from customs duties.

As a result, the number of yachts registered in Sanya in 2021 increased by 52.1% compared to the previous year, reaching 945, and by the middle of this year it exceeded 1,100. The city has already built more than 960 marinas designed for sports and tourism vessels.

The duty-free sector has made a great contribution to the development of the city. July 1 marked exactly two years since the launch of Hainan's new strategy to spur the development of duty-free stores. During this time, the number of their visitors in Sanya has exceeded 7.3 million people purchasing goods worth 66.6 billion yuan (almost $10 billion).

Sanya is one of the key centers of economic development of Hainan, a significant part of the income of which provides the service sector. The island's administration plans to turn the city into a leading financial and economic center with an advanced infrastructure that will house the headquarters of major Chinese and foreign companies. This large population center, also known worldwide as a first-class resort, is transforming itself year after year, attracting the attention of more and more investors.