Hainan FTP customs sealing: the “open first line, control second line” framework and what it means for foreign investors

Hainan FTP launched island-wide customs operation on 18 December 2025, implementing the “open the first line, control the second line, free within the island” (一线放开、二线管住、岛内自由) model.
海南自贸港于2025年12月18日启动全岛封关运作，实施”一线放开、二线管住、岛内自由”的监管模式。
The “first line” is liberalised (Hainan–abroad), while the “second line” (Hainan–mainland) becomes the effective tariff and tax frontier, protecting the mainland customs union.
“一线”（海南与境外）放开，而”二线”（海南与内地）成为实质上的关税与税收前沿，以保护内地关税同盟。
The “zero-tariff” item ratio rose from 21% to 74%, covering 6,637 tariff lines, above the RCEP starting level.
“零关税”商品比例由21%升至74%，覆盖6637个税目，高于RCEP起步水平。
At the 100-day mark, 7,503 new foreign-trade enterprises were registered (up 65.7%) and 737 new foreign-invested enterprises were added (up 33.5%).
封关百日，新增备案外贸企业7503家（同比增长65.7%），新增外资企业737户（同比增长33.5%）。
A negative import-tax list plus the 30% processing value-added duty exemption underpin the port’s tax system; goods under 30% value-added enter the mainland tariff-free.
进口征税商品负面清单叠加30%加工增值免关税政策构成自贸港税制支柱；加工增值超30%的货物进入内地免征进口关税。
Foreign investors should model the “second-line” cost: tariff savings are realised on the island, and onward movement to the mainland remains subject to standard frontier treatment unless an exemption path applies.
外国投资者应测算”二线”成本：关税红利在岛内实现，货物进入内地仍按标准边境待遇执行，除非适用豁免路径。

Hainan FTP customs sealing: the “open first line, control second line” framework and what it means for foreign investors | 海南自贸港封关运作核心政策与对外资含义

Overview

On 18 December 2025, the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) launched island-wide customs operation (全岛封关运作). This is the single most significant milestone in China’s plan to build a “customs territory within a territory” free-trade port, and the pivot from policy design to full implementation. For foreign investors, sealing is not symbolic — it reconfigures how goods, capital, people and services move between Hainan, the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world.

The operating philosophy is captured in three phrases: 一线放开 (open the first line), 二线管住 (control the second line), and 岛内自由 (free within the island). Together they define a separate customs area that runs a low-tariff, low-tax regime internally while keeping a controlled frontier with the mainland. The legal backbone is the *Hainan Free Trade Port Law* (《海南自由贸易港法》), supplemented by the *Master Plan for the Construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port* (《海南自由贸易港建设总体方案》) and a dense set of ministry-level rules issued through 2025 and 2026.

Market context

Hainan’s value proposition to foreign capital rests on four pillars that the sealing makes concrete:

Trade liberalisation — a widened zero-tariff catalogue and efficient “first-line” clearance.
Low taxation — the “dual 15%” personal and corporate income tax rates, extended to the end of 2027.
Investment freedom — the shortest foreign-investment negative list in China and the nation’s first cross-border services trade negative list.
Convenient flow of factors — the Multi-Functional Free Trade Account (EF account), visa-free entry for 86 countries, and seventh-freedom air traffic rights.

This combination positions Hainan as a strategic node for foreign businesses that want a low-friction base to reach both the 1.4-billion-strong Chinese market and the near-700-million Southeast Asian market.

Key 2026 developments

The “open first line, control second line” mechanism. Under the model, the boundary between Hainan and foreign countries/regions (the first line) is liberalised: goods entering from abroad generally face minimal customs intervention, subject to the zero-tariff positive list. The boundary between Hainan and the mainland (the second line) becomes the effective duty and tax frontier. Goods moving from Hainan into the mainland are subject to mainland tariffs and import links unless an exemption applies (most importantly, the processing value-added route). Within the island, “岛内自由” means zero-tariff goods can flow freely among qualifying beneficiary entities without supplementary duty.

Zero-tariff expansion. The headline change is the sharp widening of the zero-tariff catalogue: the item ratio rose from 21% to 74%, now covering 6,637 tariff lines, above the RCEP starting level. Tariff relief is governed by two complementary mechanisms — an import-tax negative list (anything not listed enters Hainan tariff-free) and a processing-value-added duty exemption (goods processed in Hainan with over 30% local value-added enter the mainland tariff-free).

100-day scorecard (to 25 March 2026). Official data published at the sealing centenary press conference show the incentives translating into real flows:

7,503 new foreign-trade enterprises registered, up 65.7% year on year; 11,773 entities qualified as zero-tariff beneficiaries.
Multi-Functional Free Trade (EF) accounts processed RMB 137.6 billion in business, with cross-first-line fund transfers exceeding RMB 115.2 billion — 4× the prior-year level.
Total import-export exceeded RMB 80 billion, up 32.9%; 186 zero-tariff transactions worth RMB 1.696 billion, up 146%, with duties waived of RMB 271 million (up 93.6%) and average clearance time cut by 26%.
861,000 inbound-outbound travellers (up 36.3%), of whom 217,000 entered visa-free (up 54.2%); 6,077 inbound-outbound flights (up 30%) and 1,393 vessels (up 15.2%).
737 new foreign-invested enterprises (up 33.5%). Siemens Energy established its first gas-turbine assembly base and service centre in Hainan; the nation’s first wholly foreign-owned hospital, Boao Fulong Cardiovascular Hospital, was licensed.

Half-year scorecard (to 31 May 2026). Customs data show zero-tariff imports reached RMB 2.645 billion, up 120%; corresponding duties waived totalled RMB 440 million, up 74.1%. Newly registered foreign-invested enterprises rose 37.6%. To date, 176 countries and regions have invested in Hainan and 86 countries enjoy visa-free entry.

Resident daily-consumer-goods zero-tariff. Beyond B2B, the port extended benefits to island residents: from 11 February 2026, resident daily consumer goods may be imported zero-tariff, with the first five resident-goods duty-free stores opened. This rounds out the FTP from an enterprise-facing incentive into a live consumer proposition.

Practical steps for foreign investors

Classify your goods against the zero-tariff positive list and the import-tax negative list before committing to a Hainan supply chain.
Model the second-line cost — tariff savings on the island do not automatically extend to mainland sales; budget for mainland tariffs unless an exemption path applies.
Evaluate the processing-value-added route (≥30% local value-added) for mainland-bound output; note new scenarios such as self-produced-goods value inclusion and cumulative processing value-added are now live.
Use the EF account for cross-first-line fund flow and consider Hainan as a treasury node; 990 EF accounts had been opened with business exceeding RMB 450 billion by the centenary.
Plan talent and entity structure early — the 15% CIT and individual income tax caps require substantive operation in Hainan; the shortest negative list and first-in-China cross-border services negative list lower market-access friction for services.
Engage Hainan investment-promotion channels early; FIE formation is accelerating and competition for sites and incentives is rising.

Related reading

Hainan FTP zero-tariff lists: raw materials, self-use equipment, and operating transport (see companion article 151).
Hainan FTP cross-border services trade negative list and foreign services opportunities (see companion article 152).
Hainan FTP 15% corporate income tax and encouraged-industry catalogue (see companion article 153).

Sources

海南自贸港封关运作核心政策与对外资含义

概述

2025年12月18日，海南自由贸易港正式开启全岛封关运作。这是中国按计划建成”境内关外”自由贸易港进程中最为关键的里程碑，也是自贸港从制度设计转向全面实施运行的支点。对境外投资者而言，封关并非象征性事件——它实质性地重新定义了货物、资本、人员与服务在海南、中国内地及境外之间的流动方式。

其运行哲学可概括为三句话：一线放开、二线管住、岛内自由。三者共同界定了一个独立的海关监管区域：在岛内运行低关税、低税率制度，同时与内地之间保留受控的前沿。其法律支柱是《海南自由贸易港法》，并辅以《海南自由贸易港建设总体方案》以及2025至2026年密集出台的一系列部委级配套规则。

市场背景

海南对外资的价值主张建立在四大支柱之上，封关使之具体化：

贸易自由化——扩容的零关税清单与高效的”一线”通关。
低税率——”双15%”个人与企业所得税，已延续至2027年底。
投资自由——中国最短的外资准入负面清单，以及全国首张跨境服务贸易负面清单。
要素便利流动——多功能自由贸易账户（EF账户）、86国免签入境，以及第七航权。

这套组合将海南定位为外国企业同时触达14亿人口中国大市场与近7亿人口东南亚市场的战略节点。

2026年核心进展

“一线放开、二线管住”机制。 在该模式下，海南与境外国家（地区）之间的边界（一线）放开：境外货物进入海南一般仅受零关税正面清单约束，海关干预最小化。海南与内地之间的边界（二线）成为实质上的关税与税收前沿。货物由海南进入内地，凡不属豁免范围的，须照章征收关税及进口环节税；只有在岛内加工且增值超30%等情形下方可免税。岛内”自由”则意味着零关税货物可在合规享惠主体之间自由流转而无需补税。

零关税扩容。 最引人注目的变化是零关税清单大幅扩容：商品比例由21%升至74%，覆盖6637个税目，高于RCEP起步水平。关税减免由两项互补机制支撑——进口征税商品负面清单（未列入清单者进入海南免征关税）与加工增值免关税政策（在海南加工且本地增值超30%的货物进入内地免征关税）。

百日成绩单（截至2026年3月25日）。 封关百日记者招待会发布的官方数据显示激励正转化为真实流量：

新增备案外贸企业7503家，同比增长65.7%；累计11773家经营主体获批零关税享惠主体资格。
多功能自由贸易（EF）账户业务量达1376亿元，其中跨一线资金划转超1152亿元，为上年同期的4倍。
外贸进出口超800亿元，同比增长32.9%；零关税业务186票、货值16.96亿元、增长146%，减免税款2.71亿元（增长93.6%），平均通关时间压缩26%。
进出境旅客86.1万人次（增长36.3%），其中免签入境21.7万人次（增长54.2%）；进出境航班6077架次（增长30%）、船舶1393艘次（增长15.2%）。
新增外资企业737户（增长33.5%）。世界500强西门子能源在海南建立首个燃机总装基地及服务中心；全国首家外商独资医院博鳌富隆心血管医院获批执业。

半年成绩单（截至2026年5月31日）。 海关数据显示，零关税进口额达26.45亿元，同比增长120%；相应免征关税4.40亿元，同比增长74.1%。新设外资企业数量增长37.6%。迄今已有176个国家和地区在琼投资，86个国家享受免签入境政策。

岛内居民日用消费品零关税。 除B2B外，自贸港将红利延伸至岛内居民：自2026年2月11日起，允许岛内居民日用消费品零关税进口，首批5家日用消费品免税店开业。这使自贸港从面向企业的激励，扩展为切切实实的消费命题。

外国投资者实务步骤

在落子海南供应链前，对照零关税正面清单与进口征税负面清单对商品进行归类。
测算”二线”成本——岛内关税节省并不自动延伸至内销；除非适用豁免路径，否则应为内地关税留出预算。
评估面向内地出品的加工增值路径（本地增值≥30%）；注意”海南自产货物价值计入增值部分””加工增值累计”等新增业务场景均已落地。
运用EF账户实现跨一线资金流动，并将海南视为资金归集节点；封关百日已开立EF账户990个，业务量超4500亿元。
尽早规划人才与实体架构——15%企业所得税与个人税负封顶均要求在海南实质性运营；全国最短负面清单与首张跨境服务贸易负面清单降低了服务业准入摩擦。
尽早对接海南招商引资渠道；外资企业设立正在加速，对地块与政策的竞争趋于激烈。

延伸阅读

海南自贸港零关税清单：原辅料、自用设备与营运用交通工具（参见151篇）。
海南自贸港跨境服务贸易负面清单与外资服务业机会（参见152篇）。
海南自贸港企业所得税15%优惠与鼓励类产业目录（参见153篇）。

来源

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