60 key policies in master plan for Hainan FTP

Chinese authorities on June 1, 2020 released a master plan for the Hainan free trade port (FTP), aiming to build it into a globally influential high-level FTP by the middle of the century. Here are the 60 key policies of the plan.

1 Maximum personal income tax of 15 percent for eligible talents.

2 Corporate income tax of 15 percent on encouraged industrial enterprises.

3 Exempt from import duties, import value-added tax and consumption tax on imported production equipment for enterprises’ own use.

4 Exempt from import duties, import value-added tax and consumption tax on imported operational vehicles and yachts.

5 Exempt from import duties, import value-added tax and consumption tax on raw and auxiliary materials imported for production.

6 Exempt from import duties, import value-added tax and consumption tax on imported goods purchased by island residents.

7 Raise the quota for offshore duty-free shopping to RMB 100,000 per person per year and expand the categories of duty-free products.

8 Exempt from corporate tax on the income acquired from new foreign direct investment before 2025 for tourism, modern services and high-tech industry enterprises.

9 Allow qualified capital expenditures to be fully tax-deducted; or to accelerate depreciation and amortization.

10 Tax exemption on imports and sales for overseas exhibits during the exhibition.

11 Products originating from Hainan, including output products whose added value exceeds 30 percent after the domestic processing of imported intermediary products, are exempt from taxes when entering the rest of China.

12 Allow flights in and out of Hainan to refuel with bonded aviation fuel.

13 Export tax rebates on domestically built ships that are registered at Yangpu Port of China and engaged in international transport.

14 Allow ships (those engaged in domestic and foreign trade) that transit at Yangpu Port of China to refuel with bonded oil.

15 Build Yangpu Port of China into an international port of registry.

16 Adopt a trial policy of tax rebates at the port of departure on goods that use Yangpu Port of China as a transit port for the final departure from China.

17 Adopt an import & export management system featuring “free flow through the first line and efficient control at the second line” in Yangpu Bonded Port Area and other qualified zones.

18 Allow overseas high-level universities and vocational colleges specialized in science, engineering, agriculture and medicine to open branch schools independently in Hainan.

19 Build Hainan into an island featuring innovative and international education.

20 Establish a multi-functional free trade account system.

21 Replace pre-audit with post-audit for the banking sector on authenticity review of cross-border and new international trade.

22 Conduct the negative list of cross-border trade in services for Hainan Free Trade Port.

23 Grant enterprises to get access to the market with a prior commitment.

24 Conduct the special list of market access to Hainan Free Trade Port.

25 Conduct the negative list of foreign investment access to Hainan Free Trade Port.

26 Treat domestic and foreign enterprises as equals in government procurement.

27 Implement a more convenient visa-free entry policy.

28 Salary ranges employed as main indices to evaluate talents.

29 Conduct a negative list management system on the issuance of work permits for foreign employees.

30 Permit foreign personnel to serve as legal representatives in legal bodies, public institutions and state-owned enterprises.

31 Remove restrictions on overseas ship and aircraft financing.

32 Decentralize the registration management of foreign debts issued by enterprises to Hainan.

33 Expand the scope of cross-border asset transfer.

34 Prioritize the support of listing Chinese enterprises overseas.

35 Allow enterprises listed overseas to handle foreign exchange registration directly at banks.

36 Establish Hainan International Intellectual Property Rights Exchange.

37 Support overseas securities, funds, and futures institutions to set up wholly-owned or jointly-owned institutes in Hainan.

38 Support the establishment of property insurance, life insurance and reinsurance companies, mutual insurance organizations and self-insurance companies.

39 Support to develop cross-border medical insurance products in cooperation with overseas institutions.

40 Support the construction of trading venues for international energy, shipping, property rights and equity stakes.

41 Enable non-residents to participate in trading and fund settlement at trading venues.

42 Develop over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives services.

43 Conduct cross-border asset management services.

44 Issue Hainan provincial bonds globally.

45 Open up value-added telecommunications services.

46 Conduct services of online data processing and transaction processing.

47 Open up basic telecommunications services in a safe and orderly fashion.

48 Conduct the International Internet Data Interaction Pilot Project.

49 Expand air traffic rights, including the Fifth Freedom and Seventh Freedom.

50  Build an international aviation hub.

51 Build a new international land and sea transport hub to connect Western China with the world.

52 Build a regional medical center.

53 Build a national base featuring China’s   blockchain technology and industrial innovation.

54 Build a pilot zone for cruise tourism.

55 Build a pilot zone for reform, development and innovation of the yacht industry.

56 Build Hainan into an International Design Island.

57 Build a national sino-foreign culture and trade exchange base.

58 Authorize the Hainan government to manage and adjust the use of cultivated land, permanent basic farmland, forestland and land for construction.

59 Grant greater autonomy to various industry organizations.

60  Formulate laws and regulations based on the reality of Hainan's free trade port construction.