# Hainan Free Trade Port's Role in Linking China and ASEAN Strengthens

- Link: https://www.thailand-business-news.com/pr-news/hainan-free-trade-ports-role-in-linking-china-and-asean-strengthens
- Published: 2026-11-05T17:03:00+07:00
- Author: MarketersMEDIA Newswire

Hainan，China, November 5, 2026 — The 2nd Hainan-ASEAN Overseas Returnees Exchange
Conference drew to a close on October 31, 2026, in Chengmai County, Hainan.

Over three days, the conference brought together hundreds of overseas returnees,
business people from ASEAN countries, and representatives from government and industry.

**Twelve projects put FTP policies to work**

Participants signed agreements on 12 projects during the conference.

The first seven deals, signed at the opening ceremony, included a platform that 
will support the export of intelligent connected new energy vehicles throughout 
their life cycle.

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/mmstudio-images/gallery/fxMuSnFxFqNVoUf31s8eUqECvCp2/
1793872512597-0.png)

Five more deals followed at the Digital Going-Global New Track · Overseas Returnees
Entrepreneurship Project matchmaking session, where returnee entrepreneurs presented
ventures combining technology and culture.

One team is developing a tropical olive industry park in Chengmai that will cover
everything from seedling research to cross-border e-commerce and is expected to 
create around 1,000 jobs.

LITHAFI, which makes sports goggles using AI and augmented reality, plans to establish
its global headquarters in Hainan while Huakun Yucheng, an agarwood venture rooted
in Wenru Town, aims to move beyond exporting raw materials and take its own brand
overseas.

The discussions continued the next day at the 2026 China·Chengmai International 
Economic and Trade Fair. After the opening ceremony and investment presentations,
a signing ceremony and the announcement of the fair’s “Best Partners” brought the
business community at the fair together with talent at the overseas’s returnees 
conference.

Ideas rapidly transformed in projects, from bringing video games to overseas markets
and developing cross-border e-commerce clusters to finding practical ways for businesses
to expand abroad across five different scenarios.

**What it takes to succeed overseas**

“Breaking into global markets is only the first step. Businesses also need to be
able to sell their products, stay afloat and grow,” said He Xia, Founder of Seekingblue
Consulting，partner of Sealink Global Consulting (M) Sdn Bhd.

Hainan has been putting FTP policies into practice by offering businesses a single
point of contact to get established and unveiling its first startup community for
one-person companies (OPCs).

An international data center and a dedicated channel for cross-border data transfers
also give businesses practical support they can count on.

He sees Hainan as a launchpad for Chinese companies expanding overseas and Malaysia
as a first stop for Chinese brands entering ASEAN markets.

“The two complement each other,” He said, stating that China has no shortage of 
good products or technology.

“What businesses often lack is local market knowledge and contacts. They need help
finding the right partners, reaching distributors directly, and securing business,
legal, financial, and tax support on the ground.”

Ronald Pua Eng Teck, Secretary-General of the ASEAN-China Economic and Trade Promotion
Association, said that Hainan Free Trade Port Resort Software Community in Chengmai
has a strong digital industry base from which to expand talent partnerships and 
technology transfer with ASEAN.

“The FTP offers much more than tax incentives,” Pua explained. “Hainan is a natural
hub linking China and ASEAN, and partners could build lasting supply chains through
contract manufacturing and joint production. Many businesspeople in ASEAN whose 
families came from Hainan would like to enter the Chinese market through the island,
but lack the information they need. Clear explanations of the policies and the steps
involved would help them find their way in and set up operations.”

Dr. Lu Qiong, Associate Researcher of Chinese National Academy of Arts said taking
intangible cultural heritage overseas necessitates more than reproducing familiar
motifs.

It calls for thoughtful reinterpretation across cultures and a range of brands pitched
at different audiences. The deeper the roots in local culture, the more distinctive
the work. Helping audiences understand what they see is an important next step in
cultural exchanges between Hainan and ASEAN.

**Giving talent and investment reasons to stay**

A conference can bring ideas, capital, and talent together for a few days. But what
would persuade people to stay and invest in the FTP?

Fu Zhishuai, Honorary President of the Indonesia Hainan General Chamber of Commerce,
said the older generation of overseas Chinese entrepreneurs know their local markets
well and retain close ties to Hainan.

Younger returnees bring fresh ideas and an international outlook. Fu envisions Hainan
as a “super incubator” where chambers of commerce and trade associations bring the
two generations together to work on complementary parts of supply chains in sectors
such as tropical agriculture and the digital economy.

To help turn these connections into projects, Hainan has established overseas talent
recruitment liaison offices in Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. It has also appointed
industry figures as ambassadors for investment promotion, culture, publicity and
youth friendship with ASEAN.

Wang Ji, Vice President of the Southeast Asia and South Asia Branch of the Western
Returned Scholars Association (Overseas-educated Scholars Association of China),
said the benefits of the FTP’s island-wide special customs operations are becoming
apparent more quickly.

Alumni networks and returnees provide a natural link between people in China and
ASEAN. Regular contact can give ASEAN-based alumni who run businesses a reason to“
come home more often” and put advanced technologies and new ways of doing business
to work in industries that can grow over the long term.

The conference offered a glimpse of how cooperation between the Hainan FTP and ASEAN
is deepening. From matching businesses with partners to exchanging ideas about culture,
Hainan is connecting its location, policy advantages, and talent with opportunities
across ASEAN. As more people and businesses make the journey in both directions,
the island is opening up across a wider range of fields.

Contact Info: 
Name: Chen XiEmail: [Send Email](https://send.releasecontact.com/89208579)
Organization: Hainan Hinews Media Co., Ltd.Website: [https://www.hinews.cn/](https://www.hinews.cn/)

Release ID: 89208579

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**Source** : [Hainan Free Trade Port's Role in Linking China and ASEAN Strengthens](https://news.marketersmedia.com/hainan-free-trade-ports-role-in-linking-china-and-asean-strengthens/89208579?rand=206000)

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