By HE Liu Jin,
Chinese Ambassador to The Gambia
Off the southernmost tip of mainland China lies Hainan, China’s second largest island, after only Taiwan. Hence herewith Hainan Province, the only province that is entirely tropical in the People’s Republic.
Today, Hainan Free Trade Port officially launches its island-wide independent customs operation, marking a crucial step for China on the path of higher-level and deeper-level opening-up. 47 years ago, on the same day, the third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China kicked off, unveiling the great prelude to China’s opening up. Half a century later, Hainan Free Trade Port becomes fully operational. This is China’s tribute to history, more importantly, its reaffirmation to the world: China’s opening up is not anexpediency, but an established national policy unswervingly pursued.
China’s determination to further expand opening-up is unwavering
The free trade port represents the highest level of opening-up in the world today. Construction of Hainan Free Trade Port is a major strategic initiative for reform and opening-up in the new era, directly planned and pushed by President Xi Jinping of China. As the island-wide independent customs operation is implemented, Hainan Free Trade Port will adopt a liberalization and facilitation policy system, characterized by “opening up the first line, managing the second line, and allowing freedom within the island”. The first line connects to the world externally, and the second line connects to the mainland internally. By 2035, it will fully achieve freedom and facilitation in trade, investment, cross-border capital flows, personnel movement, and transportation. The Hainan Free Trade Port will become a new gateway for China’s opening up in the new era and provide a new engine for the world eager for economic momentum.
Looking back at history, we can see that since the launch of reform and opening up in 1978, from joining the World Trade Organization to promoting the Belt and Road Initiative, to the successive establishment of more than 20 free trade pilot zones, China has continuously implemented an increasingly proactive opening-up strategy, achieving historic achievements in the cause of opening up. China’s goods trade volume ranks first in the world for eight consecutive years, its service trade remains among the top in the world, and digital trade is developing rapidly. Its outbound investment remains among the top three in the world, and international cooperation in industrial chains and supply chains is advancing in an orderly manner. The China International Import Expo is gaining strong momentum, with the cumulative intended transaction volume of the first eight sessions exceeding 580 billion US dollars. China’s mega market has become a major opportunity for the world.
In October 2025, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China adopted “The Communist Party of China Central Committee’s Proposal for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for National Economic and Social Development”, clearly putting forward the major strategic deployment of “expanding high-level opening up and creating a new situation of win-win cooperation”, pointing out the forward direction and providing the fundamental basis for China’s opening up in the new era. With the establishment of Hainan Free Trade Port, China is sending a strong message to the world: China will always uphold multilaturalism no matter how international situation changes. The push for an open world economy is not wavering. The pace for a high-quality opening up is not waning.
China will inject more certainty and new momentum into the world economy
Against the backdrop of rising anti-globalisation and trade-protectionism, China adheres to true multilateralism, promotes inclusive economic globalisation, actively participates in global economic governance, and is committed to building an open world economy. When today’s world is characterised by some country’s brandishing of the stick of tariffs, touted “decoupling and severing chains” and “small yards with high walls”, no more is international community lacking capital or labor, but a predictable policy environment and a stable rule-based mechanism.
Hainan Free Trade Port aspires to the highest level of opening-up in the world, actively creating a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalised, creating a good environment for global trade, investment, and development cooperation, and gathering positive energy to continuously push forward economic globalisation.
Looking back at history, opening up is the only way for world prosperity and development, and economic globalisation is an irreversible trend. Establishment of Hainan Free Trade Port is a concrete action by China to support economic globalisation and has far-reaching significance for the world economy. It is a stabiliser for the global supply chain. With zero-tariff policy, it will reduce the cost of cross-border trade and promote the optimisation and upgrading of regional industrial chains and supply chains. It is a converging hub for global resources. In the future, Hainan Free Trade Port will continue to gather high-quality global resources, including people, logistics, and capital flows, and develops into a special area with international competitiveness and influence. It is a launching pad for global economic development. As a key hub connecting China’s domestic market and the international market in the dual circulation, Hainan Free Trade Port will effectively produce the dividends of its super-large market, drive the development of more countries with its own development, and inject vigorous momentum into global economic development.
China and Gambia join hands: Seizing opening-up opportunities and deepening practical cooperation
From today, Hainan Free Trade Port launches the zero-tariff policy. As early as September 2024, at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China implemented a zero-tariff measure for 100% of the tariff items for 53 African countries with diplomatic relations with China, including Gambia. This is a practical action by China to firmly pursue an open strategy of mutual benefit and win-win results and help more African countries integrate into the world market. African countries, like the Gambia, are good partners and fellow travelers of China. Unlike the ill practice of taking tariffs as a weapon, China’s opening-up practice aims at mutual benefit and win-win results. We have always believed that high-level opening-up should focus on promoting mutually beneficial cooperation among countries, promoting common opening-up, and achieving common development.
Since the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and The Gambia in 2016, bilateral relations have continued to develop healthily. In May this year, the two countries signed protocols on the export of peanuts and cashews to China with zero-tariff. The high-quality agricultural products of Gambia are expected to be available on the tables of Chinese families. With the customs closure of the free trade port, Hainan is accelerating the construction of a modern industrial system led by tourism, modern service industries, high-tech industries, and tropical characteristic and efficient agriculture. This will open up new space for the deepening of cooperation between China and The Gambia. It is expected that the two sides will tap more cooperation potential in fields like trade, investment, agricultural technology, and cultural exchanges. The Chinese Embassy in The Gambia will, as always, serve as a bridge and provide support for the enterprises and people of our two countries.
Openness brings progress; cooperation forges the future. Let us embrace cooperation with open arms, share opportunities with win-win results, aspire for a more prosperous and beautiful tomorrow, and contribute with more solid step to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
