HAIKOU /China/, October 1. /TASS/. The southern Chinese province of Hainan is building a passenger and cargo transport system with truly global reach, Hainan Ribao reported.
According to the newspaper, joint projects with participation government bodies and businesses have become a significant driver in the development of the vast air route network of the Hainan Free Trade Port. This has also been identified as another key factor in the successful growth of the province’s duty-free retail sector.
The newspaper noted that the fifth freedom of the air regime, which allows companies in a partner country to import goods from third countries, is playing an increasingly significant role in increasing the volume of regular goods transported by aviation. This format has also helped Hainan boost its international passenger flows and attract more foreign tourists. For example, the recently launched Tbilisi-Haikou-Milan air route eliminated a range of cross-border logistics difficulties, creating the island’s first “duty-free express route,” preparations for which took more than a year. As a result, delivery times have been significantly reduced. Previously, goods from Europe first had to be transported to Hong Kong or Singapore, then to Guangzhou or Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, before finally reaching Hainan.
