On 1 June 2020 the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council jointly issued the Master Plan for the Construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port.(1) According to the plan, the aim is for the port to be completed and operational as a globally influential duty-free trading centre by 2050.
The plan states that the Hainan free trade port will open up telecoms resources and services in an orderly manner by:
- opening up value-added telecoms services and gradually removing restrictions on the percentage of enterprises' shareholdings which can be held by foreign investors;
- allowing enterprises which are registered and have service facilities in the Hainan free trade port to conduct online data processing and transaction processing services for the entire port and worldwide, as well as gradually allowing them to provide services to all of China;
- opening up basic telecoms services in a safe and orderly fashion;
- conducting pilot projects on international internet data interaction;
- building international submarine optical cables and landing points; and
- setting up international communication gateways.
Endnotes
(1) Further information is available here.
