China's upcoming launch of island-wide special customs operations at the Hainan Free Trade Port on Dec 18 underscores the country's push for high-level opening-up and its efforts to play a bigger role in regional economic integration, experts said at an international forum in Haikou.

Chi Fulin, president of the China Institute for Reform and Development and Hainan Institute for Free Trade Port Studies, said that the free trade port is a "first move strategy" to seize the initiative in future development. He said that Asia has become the center of global economic growth and regional free trade and that Hainan should make full use of its prime location at the heart of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and its position as China's gateway to ASEAN.

"Hainan should learn from the successful experiences of places like Dubai and Singapore… and integrate itself into the trend of Asian regional economic integration," Chi said.

He noted that in 2023, about 8.5 percent of China's direct investment in ASEAN passed through Hainan, a share expected to rise. He called for more favorable policies to build Hainan into a regional headquarters base for Chinese enterprises investing in Southeast Asia.

Chi also highlighted opportunities in the blue economy, saying that Hainan's extensive maritime jurisdiction covers a vast area, offering vast potential for cooperation with ASEAN countries. Building a large-scale integrated market for the blue economy would significantly raise the port's strategic position, he said.

Echoing the focus on global engagement, Liu Shangxi, a chief expert from the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences, said the broader goal for the Hainan Free Trade Port is to participate in and help lead the formulation of international rules, particularly in global digital governance and deep-sea scientific innovation.

The broader regional context was addressed by Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, former executive director of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. She called for a reimagined approach to regional integration, saying that the Asia-Pacific region, which accounts for over half of global trade, benefits deeply from interconnected supply chains.

Special economic zones and free trade ports such as Hainan, she added, should not become "isolated enclaves" but function as regional gateways. "Their true purpose is to serve as test beds for structural and regulatory reform," she said, adding that when linked through shared infrastructure and harmonized digital systems, such zones and ports can strengthen the region's economic resilience and foster collaborative innovation.