The construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) is a major national strategy personally planned and promoted by Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping. The release of the Master Plan for the Construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port on June 1 demonstrated that the program has entered the full implementation stage. The plan provided a roadmap and timeline for building a FTP with Chinese characteristics. So what can we expect in the near future? Chen Zhiwei，the editor-in-chief of China Forex and Cao Xiehe，president of Bank of China Haikou Central Sub-branch，discuss the financial characteristics of the free trade port and how this should ensure vital high-quality financial services.

Chen Zhiwei: Free trade ports represent the highest level of economic openness in the world today and one of the basic features of a mature free trade port is an open financial system. The final result is economic prosperity. The construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port is a brand-new undertaking with great strategic significance for China. This is an opportunity and a challenge as well for the financial sector in Hainan. Innovation of institutional integration shall be prioritized in accelerating the construction of an open economy and an FTP of high quality and high standards. In your view，how will the financial sector in Hainan support these objectives? And what should the focus be for these financial institutions?

Cao Xiehe: The development goals and methods of attaining them at the Hainan Free Trade Port are clearly defined. The focus is on trade and investment facilitation as well as promoting high quality development of the real economy and the realization of an economic upgrading in terms of quality，efficiency and momentum. A modern economy relies on the real economy and its lifeblood - the financial system.

The Master Plan calls for the broadening of industrial financing channels as well as innovation in terms of technology and financial policies，products and tools. It also calls for supporting enterprises in the Hainan Free Trade Port to issue bonds at home and abroad. It encourages them to move ahead in pledge loans，tourism asset securitization，financial products for shipping logistics and supply chain financing.