On the afternoon of March 24, the Global Free Trade Ports Development Forum of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2026 was held in Boao. With the theme of “Free Trade Ports: Opportunities and Missions as Gateways for Global Opening-Up”, the forum was attended by more than 400 participants, including representatives of international organizations, government officials from China and abroad, representatives of free trade ports (zones) at home and overseas, renowned experts and scholars, entrepreneurs, and media from China and abroad. Discussions focused on the connotations and functions of free trade ports as gateways for opening-up, as well as the tasks and pathways for the Hainan Free Trade Port to better fulfill this role.

The forum consisted of sessions including the opening ceremony and a high-level dialogue. The opening ceremony was moderated by Liu Xiaoming, Governor of Hainan Province. Mu Hong, Vice-chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, China’s Chief Representative to the Boao Forum for Asia, Vice-chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia Board; Lee Ka-chiu, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; and Feng Fei, Secretary of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee, delivered remarks.

Following the opening ceremony, a high-level dialogue was held and moderated by Chi Fulin, President of China Institute for Reform and Development (CIRD) and President of Hainan Institute for Free Trade Port Studies (HIFTPS). Panelists in the dialogue included George Yong-Boon Yeo, Former Foreign Minister of Singapore, Visiting Scholar at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore; Jack Perry, Chairman of the 48 Group Club of the United Kingdom and Executive Chairman of LEC Robotics; Holger Bingmann, Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of the International Chamber of Commerce; Jonathan K S Choi, Chairman of the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Entrepreneurs Alliance; and Cao Yuanzheng, Visiting Professor of Management Practice at the School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University.

Chi Fulin noted that, as a major national strategy, the Hainan Free Trade Port is positioned to serve as an important gateway for China’s opening up, a strategic hub for regional cooperation with ASEAN as a priority, and a key platform for fully implementing the Overall Plan for the Construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port and the Hainan Free Trade Port Law. It should benchmark against Hong Kong and Singapore, adopt policies and institutional arrangements at the highest level of opening-up, and accelerate the development of a new high ground for institutional opening up. He expressed confidence that, with support from all parties, the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port during the 15th Five-Year Plan period will achieve breakthrough progress and lay a decisive foundation for basically completing a high-level free trade port by 2035.

The forum was organized by the Hainan Institute for Free Trade Port Studies. Relevant staff members from CIRD also attended the forum.