Hainan to cooperate with HK for mutual benefit

Hainan and Hong Kong have decided to cooperate in 10 fields for a win-win result and further promotion of reform and opening up, according to the Hainan Development and Reform Commission.

Approved by both governments, the cooperation will focus on tourism, business, finance, conventions and exhibitions, culture and sports, youth exchanges and education, health care, technological innovation, security management, and meteorological services.

In tourism, Hong Kong will work with Hainan to promote its international tourism consumption center and strengthen joint tourism promotion, and will continue to cooperate on the Asian cruise platform. The two sides will also hold joint tourism festivals or take part in each other's.

Due to a report of the National Business Daily, Lin Jiang, vice director of the Sun Yat-sen University Institute of Free Trade Zones, said that Hainan's tourism industry can help attract international visitors to stimulate consumption and motivate development of modern services to compensate for its weak economic foundation. As Hong Kong has relatively mature experience in horse racing, the special administrative region (SAR) can offer reference for Hainan to develop the sport and a competitive sports lottery.

What is noteworthy is that Hainan enterprises are encouraged to go public as they implement the "go global" strategy via Hong Kong. Li Mingde, academic advisor of the Tourism Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with the National Business Daily that Hainan can learn much from Hong Kong as the SAR is a globally renowned trade center. The two areas are a short distance apart, so it is hard to avoid competition. However, cooperation and mutual promotion will be the future trend, claimed Li.     

Other cooperation methods encompass building service trade cooperation zones, supporting Hainan enterprises to issue bonds and loans from banks in Hong Kong, strengthening cultural exchanges, opening first-aid medical training courses, and promoting joint research laboratories.