China Touts Hainans Customs Closure as Milestone for Open Markets, but Doubts Persist

A cargo ship loaded with containers leaves a port in Haikou in China’s southern Hainan Province on May 17, 2021. STR/AFP via Getty ImagesWhen China formally launched its “customs closure” operation at the Hainan Free Trade Port on Dec. 18, the regime quickly framed the move as a milestone in Beijing’s push for innovative economic opening.State media outlet Xinhua News Agency highlighted surging foreign trade, record duty-free sales, rising port volume, and a spike in new business registrations, portraying the island as the world’s “largest free trade port.”