On October 17, the Belt and Road CEO Conference, an opening event of the ongoing third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) attended by more than 1000 representatives, was held in Beijing.

The conference saw a large number of cooperation projects across 68 countries and regions in fields including infrastructure, clean energy, artificial intelligence, biomedicine, financing, modern agriculture, and railway transportation inked by Chinese and foreign partners.

The Belt and Road CEO Conference signing ceremony held in Beijing on Oct. 17. (Photo: China Daily)

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by China. Notable achievements of the BRI over the past decade were highlighted at the conference, including the progress made in south China’s island province of Hainan.

According to Haikou Customs, from 2013 to the end of September this year, imports and exports between Hainan and BRI partner countries totaled 609.76 billion yuan (approx. $83.4 billion), accounting for 50.4% of the province's total foreign trade over that period. Trade between the two sides during the first three quarters of 2023 was valued at 81.41 billion yuan (approx. $11.13 billion), a year-on-year increase of 21.3%, with the number of companies invested by the BRI partner countries in Hainan between January and August rising by 24.12% over the same period last year.

These impressive figures have many entrepreneurs excited about the prospects of the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP).

“Once whole-island special customs operations come into play, the sky is the limit for the Hainan FTP,” said Li Huaxin, Vice President of China’s Pacific Construction Group. Over the past years, the company has invested in several construction projects on the island of Hainan and plans to expand their business in the FTP.

Saad Ahimad, a representative of Pakistan's Global Group, which has signed an agreement with a Chinese firm to cooperate on medical equipment at the conference, said that his firm hopes to leverage the Hainan FTP's preferential policies on medical products to foster cooperation with partners in Hainan.

Aerial view of the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, one of the key industrial parks in the Hainan Free Trade Port and part of the medical vanguard in China, leading the way in bringing in many internationally innovative medicines and types of medical equipment. [Photo: Yuan Chen/Hainan Daily]

A representative of a Saudi company mentioned the benefits the BRI has brought to the Middle East; not only China's supply chain and advanced technologies but also sustainable projects. The hope is that the development of the Hainan FTP will bring more benefits to the companies in BRI partner countries.

Robert Warren Anderson, CEO of Cambodia-based LCH Investment Group, has visited Hainan twice and was impressed by the scenery of the tropical island. He looked forward to conducting cooperation with Hainan partners in investment and trade, in addition to tourism and leisure.