The 2nd Hainan-ASEAN Overseas Returnees Exchange Conference drew to a close on October 31, 2026, in Chengmai County, Hainan.

Over three days, the conference brought together hundreds of overseas returnees, business people from ASEAN countries, and representatives from government and industry. Leveraging Chengmai as a hub, the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) is drawing on its location, policy incentives, and on-the-ground business support to open new routes between China and ASEAN.

Twelve projects put FTP policies to work

Participants signed agreements on 12 projects during the conference.

The first seven deals, signed at the opening ceremony, included a platform that will support the export of intelligent connected new energy vehicles throughout their life cycle.

The 2nd Hainan-ASEAN Overseas Returnees Exchange Conference opens in Chengmai on the morning of October 30, 2026. Photo by Caozhi.

Five more deals followed at the Digital Going-Global New Track · Overseas Returnees Entrepreneurship Project Matchmaking Session, where returnee entrepreneurs presented ventures combining technology and culture.

One team is developing a tropical olive industry park in Chengmai that will cover everything from seedling research to cross-border e-commerce and is expected to create around 1,000 jobs.

LITHAFI, which makes sports goggles using AI and augmented reality, plans to establish its global headquarters in Hainan while Huakun Yucheng, an agarwood venture rooted in Wenru Town, aims to move beyond exporting raw materials and take its own brand overseas.

The discussions continued the next day at the 2026 China·Chengmai International Economic and Trade Fair. After the opening ceremony and investment presentations, a signing ceremony and the announcement of the fair’s “Best Partners” brought the business community at the fair together with talent at the overseas's returnees conference.

Ideas rapidly transformed in projects, from bringing video games to overseas markets and developing cross-border e-commerce clusters to finding practical ways for businesses to expand abroad across five different scenarios.

What it takes to succeed overseas

“Breaking into global markets is only the first step. Businesses also need to be able to sell their products, stay afloat and grow,” said He Xia, Founder of Seekingblue Consulting，partner of Sealink Global Consulting (M) Sdn Bhd.

Hainan has been putting FTP policies into practice by offering businesses a single point of contact to get established and unveiling its first startup community for one-person companies (OPCs).

An international data center and a dedicated channel for cross-border data transfers also give businesses practical support they can count on.

He sees Hainan as a launchpad for Chinese companies expanding overseas and Malaysia as a first stop for Chinese brands entering ASEAN markets.

"The two complement each other," He said, stating that China has no shortage of good products or technology.

"What businesses often lack is local market knowledge and contacts. They need help finding the right partners, reaching distributors directly, and securing business, legal, financial, and tax support on the ground."

Ronald Pua Eng Teck, Secretary-General of the ASEAN-China Economic and Trade Promotion Association (ACETP), said that Hainan Free Trade Port Resort Software Community in Chengmai has a strong digital industry base from which to expand talent partnerships and technology transfer with ASEAN.

ACETP Secretary-General Ronald Pua Eng Teck

"The FTP offers much more than tax incentives," Pua explained. "Hainan is a natural hub linking China and ASEAN, and partners could build lasting supply chains through contract manufacturing and joint production. Many businesspeople in ASEAN whose families came from Hainan would like to enter the Chinese market through the island, but lack the information they need. Clear explanations of the policies and the steps involved would help them find their way in and set up operations."

Dr. Lu Qiong, Associate Researcher of Chinese National Academy of Arts said taking intangible cultural heritage overseas necessitates more than reproducing familiar motifs.

It calls for thoughtful reinterpretation across cultures and a range of brands pitched at different audiences. The deeper the roots in local culture, the more distinctive the work. Helping audiences understand what they see is an important next step in cultural exchanges between Hainan and ASEAN.

Giving talent and investment reasons to stay

A conference can bring ideas, capital, and talent together for a few days. But what would persuade people to stay and invest in the FTP?

Yu Xun, who holds a PhD in Business Management from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Malaysia, visited Chengmai’s platform for game developers expanding overseas and its OPC startup community.

For Yu, the landscaped grounds and clearly defined industry zones were a departure from the conventional office block. What matters most to entrepreneurs, Yu said, is how much support they can get while building a business.

Yu has already begun asking about the policies with a view to setting up a project in Chengmai.

Fu Zhishuai, Honorary President of the Indonesia Hainan General Chamber of Commerce, said the older generation of overseas Chinese entrepreneurs know their local markets well and retain close ties to Hainan.

Participants attend the Digital Going-Global New Track · Overseas Returnees Entrepreneurship Project Matchmaking Session, a parallel session of the conference, in Chengmai on the afternoon of October 30.

Younger returnees bring fresh ideas and an international outlook. Fu envisions Hainan as a “super incubator” where chambers of commerce and trade associations bring the two generations together to work on complementary parts of supply chains in sectors such as tropical agriculture and the digital economy.

To help turn these connections into projects, Hainan has established overseas talent recruitment liaison offices in Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. It has also appointed industry figures as ambassadors for investment promotion, culture, publicity and youth friendship with ASEAN.

Wang Ji, Vice President of the Southeast Asia and South Asia Branch of the Western Returned Scholars Association (Overseas-educated Scholars Association of China), said the benefits of the FTP’s island-wide special customs operations are becoming apparent more quickly.

Alumni networks and returnees provide a natural link between people in China and ASEAN. Regular contact can give ASEAN-based alumni who run businesses a reason to “come home more often” and put advanced technologies and new ways of doing business to work in industries that can grow over the long term.

The conference offered a glimpse of how cooperation between the Hainan FTP and ASEAN is deepening. From matching businesses with partners to exchanging ideas about culture, Hainan is connecting its location, policy advantages, and talent with opportunities across ASEAN. As more people and businesses make the journey in both directions, the island is opening up across a wider range of fields.