Hainan FTP New Rules

Following the implementation of the Hainan free trade port law on June 10, 2021, Hainan has issued 17 related regulations, ensuring better development and wider opening of the Hainan free trade port. Construction of the Hainan FTP focuses on liberalizing and facilitating trade and investment.

Hainan has released regulations on fair competition, bankruptcy, intellectual property rights (IPR), and commercial deregistration over the past year to ensure that Hainan FTP construction adheres to international economic standards.

Hainan has advanced institutional innovation and established the FTP bankruptcy system with Chinese characteristics. In December 2021, Haikou's first bankruptcy court opened for business. The court oversees all bankruptcy-related cases. As May 2022, the Haikou bankruptcy court handled 199 cases of bankruptcy and liquidation, improving the ease with which enterprises handle bankruptcy while reducing bankruptcy costs for businesses.

The Hainan government instituted cross-class protection of well-known unregistered trademarks and created regulations for the protection of registered trademark goods for parallel imports and original equipment manufacturing. These practices have facilitated the introduction of high-standard international economic and trade rules in Hainan, serving as stress tests for a higher level of opening up.

Hainan issued a regulation on optimizing the local business environment last September, which is crucial for guiding and guaranteeing the development of Hainan's business environment.

The improving business environment has attracted a growing number of foreign investors to the tropical island.

In 2021, there were 1,936 new foreign-funded firms established in the province, an increase of 92.6 percent over the previous year. In addition, the actual use of foreign investment exceeded USD 3.5 billion, up 16.2 percent year-on-year.

In the first four months of the 2022, Hainan utilized USD 1.04 billion of foreign investment, up 54.8 percent from last year.

In June 2020, China released a plan to transform the island province into a high-level, globally influential free trade port by the middle of this century.