Opinion | How Hong Kong can work with Hainan to ease entry to China’s market
Jointly designed customs rules could be used in pilot schemes to smooth the customs process for international business
This is a turning point – one that invites Hong Kong to think not only about how to cooperate, but how to co-design the next phase of China’s engagement with the world.
This scale of reform raises questions for Hong Kong. As its traditional positioning evolves, the instinct might be to protect existing advantages. A better response would be to engage with Hainan’s reforms, not just as a participant or complementary service hub, but as a co-architect of governance arrangements that reinforce China’s economic resilience.
This shift matters because complementarity has practical limits. If Hainan is now empowered to shape tariff rules, regulatory pilot zones and tax environments for high-value services, it is also implicitly being asked to generate mechanisms and norms for cross-border flows.