Video | International Experts: Hainan Free Trade Port Becomes an Important Platform for Promoting Global Trade

Ask AI · After Hainan’s Free Trade Port completes full-island customs clearance, how will the Boao Forum empower global trade?

As the opening year of the “15th Five-Year Plan” and the first annual meeting held after the full operation of Hainan’s Free Trade Port, the 2026 Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference has attracted global attention. Guests from multiple countries said that the development momentum of Hainan’s Free Trade Port continues to be released and has become an important platform for promoting global trade liberalization and facilitation.

**Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Zohair Khan: **The convening of this forum’s annual meeting is very timely—held shortly after China released the Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan—and is expected to deliver many results, covering topics such as economic opportunities and the evolution of the global new economic landscape. The global situation is complex and changeable, and both supply chains and value chains are showing wave-like trends. We need to think about what lessons this forum’s annual meeting can bring us. On a global scale, Hainan’s Free Trade Port is an excellent platform for the free flow of goods and services, making goods and services better in quality and more affordable. It has become extremely popular here—many people come here to enjoy preferential shopping.

**Research Fellow at the European and International Integrated Studies Center, Higher School of Economics, Egor Prokhin: **For more than ten years, I have visited Hainan multiple times and witnessed what kind of development has taken place here, including progress in policies related to the free trade port and infrastructure development. I have also learned about Hainan’s advances in science and technology. I have personally witnessed the achievements made over these years. Therefore, I believe the Chinese government has created new development potential for Hainan.

**Professor, Jeffrey Brooks, Swinburne University of Technology (Australia): **I already knew about (Hainan Free Trade Port) before, but this is my first time coming here, and I’m very excited. I think that currently all parties are willing to strengthen their cooperation with China. The world situation is going through many changes, and everyone is looking for ways to expand their relationships with one another.

**Chairman of the 48 Group Club (United Kingdom), Jack Perry: **This is my first time attending the Boao Forum for Asia, and I’m very excited. For us, the Boao Forum for Asia is a very important platform. Hainan has a unique geographic advantage, and more importantly, it has well-developed infrastructure, which is very important for traders. Hainan’s Free Trade Port has already become a focal point, and we are considering setting up a China headquarters in Hainan, so as to expand our business across all of China.