In south China's Hainan Province, there is a new tropical rainforest national park which covers an area of more than 4,400 square km, accounting for one seventh of the land area of the island. It is one of the 12 pilot projects announced in 2018, regarding the basic security, industry and ecological civilization in the province.

In order to solve the problem of over-dependence on real estate, Hainan has formulated a strict system of land conservation. The province shifted the emphasis of work to infrastructure promotion and the construction of ports and free trade zones. It also imposed restrictions on the purchase of houses by non-local residents, making room for the development of other industries.

New methods have been adopted to attract investment by building a website and introducing third-party organizations to bring in Fortune 500 companies. It also set explicit thresholds for companies and projects allowed, mostly in environmentally-friendly, low-carbon industries such as tourism, modern services and the hi-tech sectors.

This industrial restructuring brought challenges to Hainan's economic development, a GDP growth of 5.8 percent in 2018, lower than the national average. However, it is of great significance for the province's high-quality development in the long run.

To create an optimized business environment, Hainan has proposed 40 measures in 11 aspects such as building a service-oriented government with reference to the indicators made by the World Bank.

Hainan's experimental reform also features institutional innovation. The key is to create an atmosphere that allows for trial and error. As a special economic zone, Hainan has formulated more than 40 regulations, which have provided valuable experience for national legislation while serving as legal assurance for Hainan's social and economic development.

This year will mark the implementation of policies for deepening reform in Hainan, which is striving to optimize the ecological structure, promote infrastructure construction and coordinate regional development.

(This is an edited excerpt of an article originally published in China Newsweek on April 22)