The rollout of island-wide special customs operations at Hainan Free Trade Port will unlock new opportunities for deepening economic cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said Pov Somnang, special assistant to the secretary-general of ASEAN.

His comments came after China launched island-wide special customs operations at Hainan FTP in mid-December — the world's largest free trade port by area — allowing freer entry of overseas goods, expanding zero-tariff coverage and introducing more business-friendly measures.

Foreign firms can benefit from a business environment more closely aligned with international standards, lower tax costs and broader access to service sectors such as healthcare and education.

Pov said Hainan FTP will serve as a more efficient gateway for ASEAN businesses to access the Chinese market and global supply chains.

"ASEAN exporters of tropical agricultural products, high-end foods and consumer goods are expected to benefit from tariff reductions and trade facilitation measures, further expanding exports to China," said the ASEAN official, who is also president of the Promotion of Economic and Trade Cambodia-ASEAN Association.

His optimism also comes as trade ties between China and ASEAN continue to deepen. ASEAN was China's largest trading partner in the January-November period, with bilateral trade reaching 6.82 trillion yuan ($969 billion), up 8.5 percent year-on-year and accounting for 16.6 percent of China's total foreign trade, said the General Administration of Customs.

Under the new rules, the share of zero-tariff products in Hainan FTP has been raised from 21 to 74 percent, expanding the list of related items from 1,900 to over 6,600.

Zero-tariff goods processed in Hainan may be sold to the mainland duty-free if local processing generates at least 30 percent added value.

Highlighting that industrial synergy will be strengthened between China and ASEAN, he said that Hainan FTP's focus on tourism, modern services and high-tech industries is naturally complementary to the economic structures of many ASEAN countries.

"Deeper cooperation is expected in areas such as the digital economy, green energy, biomedicine and cultural tourism," he said, adding that emerging models will link ASEAN manufacturing with Hainan-based research and development capabilities and connect ASEAN markets with services delivered from Hainan.

With the signing of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol in Kuala Lumpur in October, Pov said cooperation between China and ASEAN is set to expand beyond traditional sectors and move toward a comprehensive upgrade into emerging areas.

"For example, China's strengths in photovoltaic components and new energy vehicle technologies are well aligned with ASEAN's growing demand for clean energy and its market potential, suggesting that cooperation in these areas will continue to expand," he added.

Echoing that sentiment, Peng Bo, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said such complementarities are increasingly translating into concrete business decisions, as foreign firms align investment strategies with regional industrial integration.

With global shipping shifting toward greener and more digital operations, Nippon Paint Marine Coatings Co, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Nipsea Group, will deepen its presence in China, positioning the country as a core manufacturing, innovation and growth hub for its worldwide marine coating business.

Over the past two years, Nippon Paint Marine has posted double-digit annual growth in China, fueled by a rising demand from shipyards and repair centers, as well as a growing number of global shipowners turning to Chinese yards for maintenance and upgrades, said Gladys Goh, president of Nippon Paint Marine.

Goh said that by leveraging Nipsea Group's manufacturing, logistics and R&D capabilities in China, the company has been able to rapidly localize production, shorten delivery cycles and respond swiftly to customer needs.