An aerial drone photo taken on Nov. 27, 2025 shows a view of the Haikou Port in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province. China's Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) will launch island-wide independent customs operations as of Dec. 18, a major milestone in the opening-up drive of the world's second-largest economy despite rising protectionism worldwide. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

The People's Bank of China (PBC), the country's central bank, said on Wednesday that it has completed the financial preparations for Thursday's launch of island-wide independent customs operations in the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP). 

This represents a milestone in the broad opening-up drive of the world's second-largest economy, including in the financial sector, Chinese analysts said.

The PBC said that it has continuously improved the financial policies and institutional framework suited to the Hainan FTP, strongly supporting its formation and initial momentum. Three designated financial preparatory tasks have been completed so far, and the central bank will keep refining a policy toolkit tailored to the high-standard construction of the Hainan FTP, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

The central bank stressed that these measures are intended to support Hainan's wider opening-up and facilitate high‑level, high‑quality cross‑border economic activity.

A key plank of the financial framework is the multi‑function free trade account (EF account), launched in May 2024 by the PBC and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange to create a unified onshore and offshore account system. 

Since the EF account went live, uptake has grown rapidly. As of the end of October, 11 Hainan banks had opened 658 EF accounts and handled transactions equivalent to 2.689 trillion yuan ($38.1 billion), with account holders transferring funds with entities in some 80 countries and regions, said the central bank.

As of the end of November, onshore and offshore loans in the province totaled 1.41 trillion yuan, up 11.0 percent year on year. Targeted lending grew strongly in priority areas: eldercare loans surged 157.4 percent (as of the end of October), green loans rose 25.4 percent, technology related lending was up 9.2 percent, and inclusive finance loans increased by 9.8 percent. 

A pilot program to make enterprise loan financing costs more transparent has supported more than 880 trial firms with 1,063 loans totaling more than 100 billion yuan, according to the PBC.

Cross‑border activity has expanded quickly. Cross‑border receipts and payments reached $1.016 trillion from January to November, with an average annual growth rate of 55 percent since 2020, according to a chinanews.com report on Wednesday.

Digital yuan adoption has been rolled out province‑wide. It is now accepted in areas from duty‑free shops to transport and rural revitalization programs. Mobile payment products for foreign card binding rise 97.4 percent in terms of transactions and the value of overseas-linked use rise by 110.11 year-on-year, according to the PBC. 

Wei Gejun, an adviser to the PBC, said that finance plays roles as both the "blood" and "engine" in a free trade port, and Hainan aims to be an upgraded model of China's financial opening. Measures under consideration include easing market access for foreign banks, insurers and securities firms, encouraging the establishment of foreign and joint‑venture asset managers and wealth managers, and promoting cross‑border asset management, green finance, supply‑chain finance, shipping finance and other innovative services.

The special customs operation in Hainan does not mean isolation. It is a new starting point for implementing the FTP law and related policies, and authorities will continue to roll out phased measures — including further enhancement of the EF account system and orderly expansion of financial opening — to support the port's development and attract global capital and talent, the local authorities told the Global Times in a statement.

Global Times