TOP Chinese leader Mr Jiang Zemin reassured the sub-tropical island of Hainan that it remained one of the ''windows'' in the drive to widen reforms.
Mr Jiang, party and state leader, gave the upbeat message yesterday in Haikou to mark the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Hainan Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
He said the setting up of SEZs as the ''windows'' on China's open policy played an active and pioneering role in those reforms.
Mr Jiang noted that Hainan had had distinct advantages in its resources and a sound prospect for development.
The decision to set up an SEZ in Hainan was to give full play to its natural advantages to accelerate the pace of reform, he said.
Over the past five years, he maintained, Hainan authorities helped bring prosperity to the once-backward island.
A rapidly growing economy had brought great changes to the island, said Mr Jiang.