News Excerpt:
Amidst ongoing tensions in the South China Sea, the Governor of Hainan province — the southernmost and the only tropical island province of China in the South China Sea — said that the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) has taken shape and gained momentum.
About Hainan Free Trade Port:
- Hainan, a lush tropical island, is not very far from the Philippines, and tensions have existed between both countries over the disputed South China Sea.
- As per the first phase of the plan, China aims to establish about 35,000 sq km island as China’s most open economic region by 2025.
- The ultimate goal is to build a tropical Dubai in the middle of the South China Sea by 2035.
- China will focus on the aerospace industry as Hainan is ideally suited for the development of the aerospace industry due to its geographical latitude.
- It’s also China’s largest free-trade port and host of the Boao Forum, an annual meeting of political and business leaders dubbed “Asia’s Davos.”
- It is also a strategically important island. And is also home to key military bases.
- Hainan’s economy is among the smallest of all Chinese regions and provinces, with its GDP ranking only above far-flung Ningxia, Qinghai and Tibet.
- Agriculture contributes the most to its economy.
- Hainan is also home to the Wenchang Space Launch Site, located on the island's northeastern edge.
- Selected for its low latitude, the Wenchang site allows for the heavy payload required for launching China’s new space station, the Tiangong.
