00:00Bernard de Witt is chairman of the Belgium-Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
00:05I think it's a very nice first symbol.
00:09At the moment when many countries are speaking of more protectionist measures,
00:14that China is now showing Hainan as a free trade port,
00:19as an area which will be more and more opened to the world economy
00:25and also as a place to facilitate foreign investments in the country.
00:33What will China widening the door in this way mean for European businesses?
00:39Which sectors do you expect to benefit the most?
00:42Is it just energy, tourism?
00:46No, definitely not.
00:48First of all, I see logistics because Hainan is also a port, an airport.
00:55Therefore, logistic companies will be interested to be present in Hainan.
01:02I think also to the service sector,
01:05because thanks to the tax incentives that Hainan is offering to foreign companies,
01:11a certain number of foreign companies active in the service sectors
01:15could be interested to open a branch in Hainan to profit from these nice incentives.
01:24I'm thinking also to some research centers because we have also the possibility in Hainan
01:33to attract some foreign researchers to be able to work in a very nice environment.
01:41And that is something important.
01:43I saw also that education is offered at the top level to the local population,
01:53but also to the foreign guests who would come and profit from some international schools.
01:59So there are some nice infrastructures that are developed in Hainan.
02:04So good news then for European businesses.
02:07Well, what about trade with other regions?
02:09I think, first of all, the first countries that will be the most interested
02:17will be the countries around China, Asian countries, of course.
02:22That is one thing.
02:24We would see also maybe some countries from the south, from the global south,
02:30due to the fact that there are these incentives offered to companies.
02:36That means that some countries from the south who want to import goods to China
02:43would be interested to use Hainan as the door for importing their goods and raw materials, for instance.
02:51How does what we're seeing in Hainan reflect a growing confidence in welcoming people to China from around the world?
02:59Yes, I think it's a very important symbol.
03:05I think also that I was in Hainan three weeks ago and I was impressed by the infrastructure
03:14that has been put in place by the local authorities.
03:18A perfect speed train, very nice and modern airport, you have also very good hotels, that is for tourism,
03:31but also for the business people visiting Hainan.
03:35Good infrastructure for exchanges with internet, with these kind of things.
03:44And also you have a certain number of research centers with high-level intellectuals working.
03:53That could be also interesting for our foreign companies.
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