Is Xi Jinping set to announce plans to transform ‘China’s Hawaii’ into the new Hong Kong?

Establishment of free-trade ports expected to be one of the highlights of president’s keynote speech at Boao Forum, Asia’s Davos

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This year’s Boao Forum for Asia is set to get under way on Sunday at the International Conference Centre in Boao, south China’s Hainan province. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 9:04pm, 3 Apr 2018Updated: 11:26pm, 3 Apr 2018

China’s plan to create free-trade ports as part of its ongoing reform and opening up could be one of the major announcements made by President Xi Jinping at this year’s Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), which gets under way on Sunday, sources said.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that Xi’s keynote speech would be “the most authoritative interpretation” of the new measures planned to mark the 40th anniversary of China’s move towards economic liberalisation.

The new ports, plans for which were proposed by Xi in October, would enjoy much greater freedom in terms of policymaking than existing free-trade zones and be more open in terms of market access, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (centre) attends a press briefing to discuss this year’s Boao Forum for Asia in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

They would apply international standards to ensure the free flow of goods, human resources, capital and investment, and be supported by new rules and regulations, the person said, on condition of anonymity.

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