Ningbo’s leading foreign trade enterprise is venturing south to Hainan, ushering in a new chapter of industrial collaboration between the north and south.

On December 18, 2025, Hainan Island officially began its customs clearance operation. This move does not signify closure, but rather a strong signal of upgraded openness. A series of institutional opening-up policies have been implemented, injecting new momentum into regional competition and cooperation. For Ningbo, which holds three trump cards—the world’s largest port, a hub for bulk commodity resource allocation, and a city with a single-item manufacturing champion—this is by no means a distant policy prospect, but an industrial opportunity that urgently needs to be seized. The linkage between Ningbo-Zhoushan Port and Hainan Yangpu Port has already taken the lead, with 4 to 5 container ships sailing steadily each month, achieving initial circulation of cargo volume and value. Meanwhile, Ningbo enterprises are accelerating their expansion, from jointly building the “Home of Central and Eastern Europe” in Sanya to participating in the construction of the Chengmai Global E-commerce Overseas Base. Leading foreign trade enterprises are also exploring ways to leverage Hainan’s “processing and value-added” policies to restructure their global supply chains. The core of the collaboration between Ningbo and Hainan lies in the precise alignment of their “foundational strength” and “institutional dividends.” Ningbo leverages its deep manufacturing foundation and port advantages to solidify its production and supply chain, while Hainan builds a trade and settlement frontier with its open policies. This collaborative model of “production in Ningbo, trade in Hainan” is the key path for Ningbo to transform policy variables into growth momentum. The core logic of Hainan’s customs closure is to create a high-level open hub. Ningbo’s proactive layout transcends the development framework of a single city. Against the backdrop of global industrial chain restructuring, Ningbo’s manufacturing advantages need a broader open platform to unleash their value, while Hainan’s policy dividends require the support of the real economy to take effect. The synergy between the two is not simply resource complementarity, but rather a combined approach of “manufacturing + openness,” strengthening Ningbo’s core position in the global supply chain while injecting industrial vitality into Hainan, achieving a leap from city-level competition to regional collaboration. This synergistic effect will promote deep integration between the Yangtze River Delta and the ASEAN market, opening up new growth curves for Ningbo’s foreign trade. The southward expansion of Ningbo’s leading foreign trade enterprises is essentially a restructuring of global resource allocation capabilities. Utilizing Hainan’s “double 15%” tax rate and zero-tariff policy, companies can reduce international business costs and leverage ASEAN’s locational advantages to explore new markets; simultaneously, they can retain core aspects such as R&D and intelligent manufacturing in Ningbo, relying on the industrial cluster advantages of 119 manufacturing single-item champion enterprises to ensure the stability and competitiveness of the supply chain. This “dual-base” model avoids the risks of relying on a single market while strengthening the core industry’s voice. In the cross-border e-commerce sector, the significant increase in the coverage of Hainan’s zero-tariff list provides Ningbo’s cross-border e-commerce enterprises with new opportunities for strategic development. They can leverage the Hainan platform to optimize their import supply chains and enhance their competitiveness in the end-market. This strategic move is crucial for long-term development. According to relevant research reports, high-level institutional opening-up has become a core competitive arena for cities, and Hainan’s customs closure presents a critical window of opportunity. The southward expansion of Ningbo’s leading foreign trade enterprises demonstrates a precise grasp of industry trends. In contrast, most foreign trade enterprises remain trapped in traditional models, struggling to break through, and missing out on policy dividends will exacerbate the development gap. Only by proactively connecting with open platforms and restructuring collaborative models can they gain a foothold in global competition.