A note from the editor: 

As China convenes its 2025 Two Sessions, the world once again turns its attention to the country’s new blueprint for reform and opening-up. At the forefront of this journey, the Hainan Free Trade Port enters a landmark year as it prepares to implement special customs operations and open its door even wider to the world. How will Hainan present its unique opportunities and dynamic vitality to the world?

To mark this milestone, HIMC is launching Hainan, China: Where Opportunity Knocks, inviting representatives from government, business, overseas Chinese communities, academia, and international circles to share their stories of growing alongside Hainan. The program decodes the Free Trade Port’s policy dividends and extends an open invitation to the world to embrace its opportunities.

Farming the deeps increases maritime strength. President Xi Jinping has said “We should put more efforts to accelerate marine sci-tech innovation, improve marine development capacity, and foster and strengthen emerging marine industries of strategic importance.” As the only free trade port with Chinese characteristics, Hainan is taking to the seas to nurture new energy sector productivity.

Lei Yafei, a Deputy of the 14th National People's Congress, is a senior engineer at the Production Technology Research Institute of the Deep Sea Engineering Research Center of CNOOC Hainan Branch. At the 2024 National People’s Congress, he proposed the collection of key marine meteorological data to improve typhoon and climate forecasting, which has great significance to climate analysis in Hainan as well as nationally. His suggestion was adopted by the China Meteorological Administration and included among the scientific research projects of the ‘15th Five Year Plan”.

Promoting the transition to clean energy is also a continued focus for Lei. He believes that natural gas is an important bridge in the transition from fossil energy to new energy use, with Hainan playing a key role. Lei worked on the Nanshan Terminal equipment and facility expansion and renovation project, which increased the plant’s natural gas supply capacity from 3.5 million cubic meters to 4.8 million cubic meters, providing solid support for the ‘Deep Sea No. 1’ Phase II project.

The ‘Deep Sea No. 1’, a landmark project for China’s marine energy development, is currently operating stably at a high rate of production. However Lei, who once served as director of the facility, knows that there are still bottlenecks that need to be overcome in the localization of China’s deep-sea oil and gas equipment. To this end, CNOOC has established a deep-sea engineering construction research center dedicated to technological breakthroughs and innovation. Lei has also devoted his research strength to the development of ice blockage prevention and control in the deep sea environment, working to improve smart injection technology that will further increase oil and gas recovery rates. 

Video Editor: Zhang Chong

Cameramen: Wu Duosheng

Translator: Nicki Johnson

Editor: Zhang Chong, Wang Wei (Intern)