Hainan can strengthen ties with SE Asia

South China's Hainan province offers an array of sectors that could contribute to the nation's efforts to boost ties with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, experts said at a forum on Sunday.

Tropical agriculture, the digital economy, marine tourism and marine fisheries are possible fields for Hainan-ASEAN cooperation, said Chi Fulin, president of the China Institute for Reform and Development, during the 89th International Forum on China Reform held in Haikou, capital of Hainan, over the weekend.

He suggested that Hainan construct a seafood import and distribution base for ASEAN members. With this base, the island can take the initiative to import seafood from Southeast Asian countries for intensive processing, he said, adding that as long as the goods have an added value of equal or greater than 30 percent, they would still bring a profit, as such goods would be eligible for having tariffs waived if they subsequently enter the Chinese mainland market.

Hainan has geographical, industrial, cultural and institutional advantages in carrying out marine ranching cooperation and promoting multilateral oceanic governance (blue partnerships) with ASEAN members, according to Cheng Mengke, a partner at the Grandall Law Firm in Beijing. She proposed that both sides establish fishery industry clusters and benefit-sharing mechanisms.

Hainan also boasts China's first space launch site dedicated to commercial missions, which is under construction in Wenchang International Aerospace City. After its completion, Hainan will be able to provide high-quality commercial satellite launch services for ASEAN members, according to Wu Shicun, chairman of the board at the China-Southeast Asia Research Center on the South China Sea.

Wang Xiaohong, deputy head of the information department at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said that Hainan can encourage ASEAN's digital enterprises to establish their headquarters on the island while also drawing domestic digital enterprises that invest in ASEAN.

Hainan and ASEAN can strengthen cooperation in areas of finance, cross-border e-commerce, service outsourcing, intellectual property, video games, film and television production, creative design and professional services, Wang said.