Navigating high-standard opening-up in China's tropical island province

HAIKOU, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Charlotte Magnette studied Chinese language and culture in Beijing from 2012 to 2014 before returning to Europe to work, but she kept thinking about returning to China.

"While in Europe, I always missed China and its vibrant environment and I wanted to come back," said Magnette, from Belgium.

Now, Magnette is a successful international investment manager at the Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City Administration Bureau, handling communication with foreign companies interested in investing and relocating in Sanya, a coastal city in south China's Hainan Province.

"Foreign enterprises come to invest in Hainan, not only because of the Hainan market but also because of the Chinese market," she said. "Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) has a series of unique opening-up policies, and foreign enterprises can enter the Chinese market faster from here."

Magnette's job success comes as China continues to ramp up efforts to attract foreign firms and further expand its high-level opening up.

An executive meeting of the State Council held this month reviewed and approved the 2024 edition of a set of special administrative measures -- a negative list -- for foreign investment access.

According to the negative list, China will further relax restrictions on foreign investment by altogether abolishing entry barriers in the manufacturing sector and accelerating the opening up of sectors such as telecommunication, education and healthcare services.

Magnette's story goes way back.

After obtaining a master's degree from the University of Louvain, Belgium (UCL), she received a scholarship to study Chinese language and culture at Beijing Jiaotong University for two years. She then worked for two years in cultural institutions in Norway and Belgium, handling cross-cultural projects related to China.

In 2016, she was determined to move to China and became CEO of the Hainan branch of the French company DreamArt in Sanya.

In April 2018, China announced a decision to develop Hainan into a pilot free trade zone while gradually exploring and steadily promoting the establishment of an FTP with Chinese characteristics. In June 2020, a master plan was rolled out to build the island into a globally influential and high-level FTP by the middle of the century.

"It just boosted my confidence to stay in Hainan," she said.

In 2021, she joined the Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City Administration Bureau, one of the 13 key government projects of the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port.

As the international investment manager there, she not only handles communication with foreign companies but also communicates with foreign embassies and chambers of commerce in China and organizes seminars and webinars with them about investment opportunities in Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City.

She also works closely with the industrial park service team, implementing new mechanisms and services to serve foreign companies better relocating to Sanya.

Having lived and worked in China for many years and understanding Western business models, Magnette is quite good at introducing policies related to investment in China to international companies and showing how Hainan can help them quickly integrate into the Chinese and global markets.

Currently, more than 100 foreign-funded enterprises, including those from Europe and the United States, have settled in Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City.

Over the years, Magnette has witnessed the changes taking place in Hainan. According to official figures, from 2018 to 2023, the average annual growth rate of newly established foreign-funded enterprises in Hainan reached 65 percent.

"Hainan Free Trade Port has great location and policy advantages, and it will surely bring a lot of international trade and investment business opportunities," she said.