Hainan’s Free Trade Port: A partner, not a rival, to Singapore

MY VISIT to Hainan last December began after a televised interview on what the new Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) could learn from Singapore’s experiences in logistics, governance and institutional trust.

With my family, I took the chance to visit our ancestral village in Qionghai, which my grandfather left for Nanyang (South-east Asia) almost a century ago. Finding our family name within the Quan genealogy at the clan temple added a meaningful, personal layer to the trip.

That brief return to our roots offered an interesting backdrop to understanding Hainan’s transformation. Conversations with local officials and observing the early momentum of the FTP provided a clearer sense of the island’s ambitions – and why Singapore’s position, far from being threatened, remains firmly anchored.