(Yicai) March 27 -- The Hainan Free Trade Port, which is set to become operational by the end of this year, should give full play to its unique geographical and institutional advantages to form a new highland for the opening-up of China's service industry, according to the vice chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia.

From the perspective of potential comparative advantages, the Hainan FTP can focus more on the opening of service trade, pay attention to the development of high-end service industries, and introduce negative lists for access and supervision of such industries, Zhou Xiaochuan, who is also ex-governor of China's central bank, said on the opening day of the BFA, held in Hainan province from March 25 through tomorrow.

According to the general plan for the construction of the Hainan FTP issued in 2020, the southern province will set up a free trade zone covering the entire island by the end of this year, turning into the first FTP in the Chinese mainland and the largest in the world.

The Hainan FTP can also lead green development practices based on its ecological environment resource advantages and take advantage of its proximity to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to actively cooperate with member countries under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership framework, Zhou added.

"Converting an entire province into a free trade port is a courageous move that takes vision and leadership," said Ban Ki-moon, chairman of BFA and former secretary general of the United Nations.

"During the past seven years, my colleagues and I have witnessed with our own eyes how the province has transformed and reinvented itself," Ban noted. "From infrastructure, services, tropical agriculture, to high-tech industries, Hainan is well on its way to becoming a powerful magnet for global talents, capital, and resources, and an emerging hub for travel, shipping, logistics, and finance," Ban noted.

"We are speeding up the implementation of the plan for the Hainan FTP, stepping up the launch of core policies, and carefully doing various preparations to make sure that it will come into full operation as scheduled by the end of this year," said Hainan's Governer Liu Xiaoming.

Since the Hainan FTP began building, many companies have landed in the province, taking advantage of its special policy environment to strengthen foreign trade and investment, achieving significant growth, Zhao Jinping, a member of the expert advisory committee on the construction of the port, told Yicai. Hainan is moving towards its goal of becoming a headquarters base for domestic firms to go overseas, he added.

Hainan's imports and exports jumped 20 percent to CNY277.7 billion (USD38.2 billion) last year from the previous one, with exports surging 44 percent to CNY106.2 billion and imports 9 percent to CNY171.4 billion, according to official statistics.

This year's Boao Forum for Asia, often referred to as Asia's Davos, is held under the theme "Asia in the Changing World: Towards a Shared Future."

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev