The inaugural China International Consumer Products Expo, held in Haikou, capital of Hainan province, from May 7 to 10, saw frequent interactions between the authorities and enterprises based in the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) and the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP).

China released a master plan last June to build the island province of Hainan into a globally influential and high-level free trade port by the middle of the century. The plan also states that Hainan should strive to build itself into an international tourism and consumption center.

On the other hand, the Zhejiang FTZ, which consists of parts of the province's cities of Zhoushan, Ningbo, Hangzhou, and Jinhua, is among the 21 FTZs spread across the country.

During the expo, government organizations in Zhejiang and Hainan signed three framework agreements on deepening cooperation between the Zhejiang FTZ and the Hainan FTP. In addition, numerous Zhejiang-based enterprises also signed agreements to invest in the Hainan FTP, seeking to take advantage of the highest-level opening-up policies in the island.

Yuan Ying, director of the exhibition booth of the Yiwu-based Zhejiang China Commodities City Group (CCC) Co, told reporters that she believed that the increasing number of international brand products that are manufactured, sold, and stocked in Hainan means that investment in the province would help ensure a stable supply chain for Chinese importers like her company.

Accordingly, a CCC-affiliated supply chain management firm signed a cooperation agreement during the expo with a Hainan company for importing pet food. According to Yuan, in addition to importing goods through Hainan, her company also looks forward to introduce several international brands that have invested in Hainan into Yiwu as well so that they have better access to the China market.

Many members of the Zhejiang trade mission to the expo have already set up businesses in Hainan or have said that they are ready to do so.