Delegates discuss island-wide customs clearance operation

An aerial view of Yangpu Port. [Photo/VCG]

The 8th CPC Hainan Provincial Congress proposed that Hainan will regard the island-wide customs clearance operation as the "No 1 project" in the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port, which aroused discussions among delegates and scholars.

Customs is one of the key departments in the island-wide customs clearance operation. Shi Zongwei, secretary of the Party committee and director of Haikou customs, said that Haikou customs will participate in the planning of the Hainan FTP and cooperate with government departments in port construction projects.

Institutional integration and innovation are the fundamental driving force for accelerating the construction of the Hainan FTP. "We will implement the 'zero tariff' and 'low tax rate' policies on a larger scale, and promote the simplified tax system," said Wang Lei, executive deputy secretary-general of the Hainan Provincial Party Committee and executive deputy director of the Deep Reform Office of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee.

Wang Jianqin, deputy director of the political research office of the CPC Danzhou municipal committee, said that Danzhou would expand the scope of policy benefits, extending Yangpu Bonded Port Area's import and export management system to all of Danzhou.

"With the goal of building an internationally competitive taxation system, we will optimize the tax business environment and gradually build a management service system that is compatible with the FTP tax system," said Liu Lei, secretary of the Party committee and director of the Hainan Provincial Taxation Bureau of the State Administration of Taxation.

"Island-wide customs clearance operation means implementing more liberalized and facilitating trade and investment policies across the island," said Xia Feng, a researcher at the School of Marxism at Hainan University.

Enterprises can enjoy the preferential policies of zero tariffs, low tax rates, and a simplified tax system, especially for foreign-funded enterprises. For residents, they can buy high-quality goods and daily necessities from around the world at affordable prices without leaving the island, improving their quality of life and reducing the cost of living, Xia added.