The Fourth Session of the Seventh Hainan Provincial People's Congress, currently underway, unveiled 3.5 billion yuan ($480 million) of fiscal measures to promote high-quality economic development, with a further 8.9 billion yuan ($1.21 billion) earmarked to support the development of industrial parks and enhance the core competitiveness of the Hainan FTP.

Hainan also announced eight major fiscal priorities for 2025, encompassing support for implementing FTP special customs operations, expanding domestic demand and further opening up, constructing a modern industrial system with Hainan characteristics and advantages, deeper collaborative development of science, technology, education, and talents, promoting regional coordinated development, advancing comprehensive rural revitalization, protecting and improving people's livelihood, and the high-quality construction of a national ecological civilization demonstration zone.

Specifically, Hainan will extend a series of tax preferential policies, including the dual 15% cap on individual and corporate income tax, exemption of corporate income tax on new overseas direct investment income, and VAT refunds for international cargo ships. Other key allocations include:

1. Support for the development of civil aviation passenger transportation and expansion of international economic and trade cooperation networks: 1.25 billion yuan ($170 million)

2. Support for high-level "land, sea, and air" scientific research institutions in carrying out basic cutting-edge technology, core key technology, and industrialization technology research and development in the fields of Nanfan seed breeding, deep sea, and aerospace: 310 million yuan ($45 million)

Rice growing in the fields of Yazhou is ready to be harvested. (Photo: Xiao Huang / Hainan Daily)

3. Promoting talent development and entrepreneurship: 480 million yuan ($65 million)

4. Supporting marine ecological protection & restoration and pollution prevention: 240 million yuan ($33 million)

5. Supporting the integrated protection and restoration of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts: 700 million yuan ($95 million)

Restored coral in the marine ranch beneath the waters off Wuzhizhou Island, Sanya (Photo courtesy provided by Wuzhizhou Island Scenic Area)