A foreigner purchases Hainan products in a shop in Sanya. [Photo by Wu Wei/Hainan Daily]

China's Century Conference was organized by the Tax Free World Association at the Sanya Haitang Bay in Hainan province on March 6 and 7.

Senior managers from duty-free and tourism retail industries, as well as airports and airlines from Asian countries and regions, participated and shared first-hand information.

Wang Huiping, director of the Department of Finance of Hainan Province, explained Hainan's duty-free shopping policies and future development trajectory at the conference. He said that the average annual growth in sales of duty-free goods reached 39 percent since the policy was implemented seven years ago. By the end of 2018, Hainan's duty-free shops had earned a total of 40.7 billion yuan ($6.07 billion) in sales to 12.73 million consumers.

Next, Hainan plans to adjust commodity prices, improve product brands, implement better duty-free shopping policies, and make use of tax policies to build a free trade port with Chinese characteristics.

Yao Lei, deputy director of the Department of Commerce of Hainan Province, revealed that Hainan would build the world's largest consumption boutique exhibition center to serve as a platform for importing global commodities into the Chinese mainland. The center will offer supporting services for temporary exhibitions, long-term displays, onsite negotiations, trading, intelligent service systems, global warehousing logistics, and offshore finance.