How can a company expand into the market to open up broader paths?

Sun Haitian

Meishan Wang has a new account, flipping through it more and more reluctant to put it down. At the entrance of Weida Chemical Plant in Yangpu, Hainan, he took out his phone, opened the calculator, and recalculated that account—purchasing 16k tons of polypropylene annually, previously subject to a 6.5% import duty per ton; after customs closure, the raw material cost per ton decreased by 400 yuan, saving over 16k yuan a year.

Three months ago, this calculation was impossible. Weida Chemical and Hainan Refining have been neighbors for 20 years, separated by only a wall, but policy “distance” once made it helpless. Before customs closure, the processing value-added policy exempted tariffs for the “chain leader” enterprise, Hainan Refining, while downstream supporting companies like Weida Chemical could only watch. Now, the two companies have completed Hainan’s first batch of processing value-added tariff exemption business. With a cost advantage, they are able to push more “Made in Hainan” products into broader markets.

More business entities sharing policy dividends reflect the major changes after the Free Trade Port’s customs closure. It prompts the question: how can enterprises venture into markets with wider roads? Let’s start with three keywords.

First is collaboration. The vitality of policies lies not in single-point breakthroughs but in layered transmission and empowerment at every link.

For example, expanding the tariff-free list, increasing processing value-added tariff exemptions, and stacking multifunctional free trade account tools—these multiple policies form a combined punch, lowering overall costs. Some companies save 12 million yuan in tariffs per 100 million yuan of raw materials; others enjoy about 300 million yuan in total processing value-added tariff reductions and exemptions. Additionally, in the Xiangqiong advanced manufacturing industrial park, Hunan’s engineering machinery, technology, and enterprises are accelerating integration with Hainan’s free trade port policies and deep-water port advantages; nuts from Africa are processed at Fengye Food in Dongfang City, Hainan, then shipped to the China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Innovation Demonstration Park in Hunan. Playing the “collaboration card” maximizes policy multiplier effects and factor agglomeration, making the industrial ecosystem more prosperous and enterprises more confident to explore.

Second is precision. To grow big and strong, policy support must be strong, and services must be precise.

For example, Guguo Foods from Jiangxi, crossing thousands of miles to Yangpu, had key staff dispatched within 10 minutes by the Danzhou enterprise service center to assist on-site throughout. Efficient, high-quality services allow enterprises to focus on production and market expansion. Moreover, Hainan relies on the “Haiyi Dui” system to shift from “passive application” to “proactive fulfillment” of enterprise-benefiting policies. From “policies seeking enterprises” to transparent enforcement with “one code to show bottom line,” and to “immediate benefit without application” for funds, the precision of governance enhances service warmth and solidifies enterprises’ confidence to reach new heights.

Third is rhythm. Promoting development involves both the “fast lane” of urgent progress and the “slow thinking” of steady steps.

Clear policy regulations require swift execution. In Haikou, the Nongfu Spring base project took only 40 days from signing to land acquisition, with approval procedures compressed to 14 working days; in Chengmai, the Feitian Valley Hainan Digital Intelligence Industrial Community project in Zhejiang-Qiong cooperation industrial park completed land rights registration on the second day after the Spring Festival, paving the way for “land acquisition and start of construction.” Stability is reflected in cautious institutional exploration. Whether expanding the processing value-added tariff exemption from pilot zones to the entire island or establishing and gradually improving the free trade port legal system, these demonstrate strategic patience with a long-term view. The appropriate pace of fast and slow, steady progress ensures each reform step is both rapid and stable.

Collaboration breaks barriers, precision builds trust, and rhythm balances speed and steadiness. When policy effects, industrial vitality, and governance efficiency resonate in harmony, a more open and dynamic development pattern naturally forms. Since the customs closure, exports of canola oil by Osca Grain & Oil to Malaysia, concentrated bone broth products from the Zhongao Soup Industry reaching overseas tables directly from Yangpu Port, and Hailun Pearl in Sanya leveraging processing value-added tariff exemptions to boost both domestic sales and international branding… Since the customs closure, Hainan Free Trade Port has seen a 30% increase in foreign-invested enterprises and a 74% rise in newly registered foreign trade companies, with more and more enterprises viewing Hainan as a launchpad for going global.

Once, the ocean was a geographical barrier; now, it is an open channel. Bringing in elements allows Hainan to gather various resources; going out, more enterprises set sail from Hainan. As policy dividends continue to be released and the business environment improves, the path of interconnected development will become broader and broader.

( The author is a reporter from our Hainan branch )