This aerial photo taken on Nov. 5, 2022 shows a view of the Yangpu international container terminal in the Yangpu Economic Development Zone, south China's Hainan Province. After exceeding 100 billion yuan (about $14.92 billion) for the first time in 2021, the total import and export value of Hainan Free Trade Port exceeded 200 billion yuan (about $29.84 billion) to reach 200.95 billion yuan (about $29.98 billion) in 2022, an increase of 36.8 percent. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)

Agreements for 13 collaborative projects worth 3.5 billion yuan ($510 million) were signed during a promotion event for South China's Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) in Jakarta, Indonesia on Friday, Hainan FTP said in a statement over the weekend. 

The agreements cover a wide range of areas such as the opening of international flight routes, purchases of coconut and natural rubber, setting up new factories and cross-border e-commerce, read the statement on Saturday. 

The promotion event aims to deepen cooperation between Hainan and Indonesia, as well as between Hainan and ASEAN, share the opening and development opportunities of the Hainan FTP, and achieve win-win results, read the statement.

More than 400 participants attended the promotion event, including Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Lu Kang, Chairman of the Indonesian Chinese Entrepreneur Association Abdul Alek Soelystio, and business representatives from China, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries.

The Hainan FTP is an ideal place for trade, supported by its open and stable preferential policies, low taxation and industries that complement those of Southeast Asian nations, the Xinhua News Agency reported, citing Shen Xiaoming, secretary of the Hainan provincial committee of the Communist Party of China.

In June 2020, China rolled out a master plan to build the 35,000-square kilometer Hainan Island in South China into a globally influential and high-level free trade port by the middle of the century. 

In 2022, total trade of the Hainan FTP exceeded 200 billion yuan, an increase of 36.8 percent year-on-year, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.

Indonesia is the largest economy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Thanks to the Hainan FTP's policies and the opportunities brought about by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade deal, merchandise trade between Hainan Province and Indonesia has grown rapidly in recent years, and Indonesia has become a major investment destination in ASEAN for Hainan enterprises.

To accelerate regional economic integration, China plans to set up a demonstration zone for innovative economic and trade development with Indonesia in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian Province. China's Ministry of Commerce issued a statement last week, detailing the plan and noting that the park is expected to grow into an important trade and investment corridor along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road by 2035.

Separately, the 20th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO), which is scheduled to be held in September in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, started its global promotion roadshow in Jakarta on Wednesday. 

Wei Zhaohui, secretary general of the CAEXPO Secretariat, told the audience that the expo would create more opportunities for Indonesian businesses, according to the official twitter account of the CAEXPO.

Global Times