On January 17, this year's Hainan Two Sessions (the Hainan Provincial People's Congress and the Hainan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)) successfully came to a close. As the construction of a free trade port (FTP) with Chinese characteristics and global influence in Hainan steps up a gear, many deputies and committee members said that full advantage of system, policy, positioning, and other aspects should be taken and global resources allocated to permit the convergence of outside talent, technology, capital, and other factors and create a "bridgehead" of high-level opening up. They also appealed for more enterprises and talents to come to Hainan to jointly advance the construction of the FTP. As the ancient Chinese saying goes, "Friends from afar are a welcome presence," and this couldn't be truer for Hainan.

During this year's provincial two sessions, Gao Renbo, a member of the Hainan Provincial Committee of the CPPCC and managing partner of technology and new economy consulting at KPMG Enterprise Consulting (China) Co., Ltd., said that he felt encouraged and motivated after listening to the provincial government work report and the relevant work reports of the CPPCC.

Gao Renbo, member of the Hainan Provincial Committee of the CPPCC  (Photo: Li Hao)

"In fact, as early as this year, I had the honor to participate in the work of soliciting opinions in the early stage of the work report of the Hainan Provincial Government. During this period, I mainly focused on internationalization, digital innovation, finance, and other fields, which are of great relevance to many excellent international and domestic enterprises. I think it is very important to focus on these areas to build a FTP with the best of Chinese characteristics," said Gao.

Gao, a "fresh face" who was elected as a member of the Provincial Committee of the CPPCC for the first time, brought a proposal to the annual session, which suggests that Hainan should use digital transportation as leverage to spur the development of the digital economy and industry. During the two sessions, he found that he shared common goals and interests with many of his fellow members, and hopes to continue the conversation and coordinate with them to draft joint proposals in the future.

At the two sessions, Liu Jingping, a deputy to the Provincial People's Congress and chairman of Hainan Huluwa Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., had this to say: "Beneficial policies continue to be implemented, Hainan's industrial foundation is being constantly consolidated, and the business environment increasingly optimized. As an industry insider, these developments have gotten me very excited."

"In recent years, with the vigorous rise of the construction of the Hainan FTP, policies to support the development of the biomedical industry have also been introduced." Liu continued, mentioning the 14th Five-Year Development Plan for High-tech Industries in Hainan Province issued in 2021—which lists modern biomedicine as one of three strategic emerging industries—as an example.

Last year, the Implementation Rules for the Management of Incentives and Subsidies to Support the Growth of the Modern Biopharmaceutical Industry in Hainan were issued, shifting the development of Hainan's modern biomedical industry into a fast lane. In addition, policies such as incremental incentives for R&D funds of high-tech enterprises and elimination of import tariffs for self-use production equipment have greatly benefited enterprises in R&D investment and carrying out digital transformation.

"A good policy environment plays a key role in our research and development, innovation and talent introduction, as well as in furthering the high-quality development of enterprises." Taking his own enterprise as an example, Liu said that the construction of the company's Mei'an infant pharmaceuticals intelligent manufacturing base has picked up the pace and is expected to officially come online in June this year, further increasing pharmaceutical production capacity.