United Morning Post reported today: "China's Hainan Free Trade Port was closed last week, marking an important step in China's opening up. It has also sparked comparisons with Singapore's port in the public opinion arena, especially pointing to a key issue: Will the Hainan Free Trade Port impact or even replace Singapore's port status?"
Comment: The closure of the Hainan Free Trade Port is not intended to replace Singapore's port, but rather to restructure the regional trade pattern based on differentiated positioning. Hainan is backed by China's super-large market, with "processing and value-added tax-free + full industry chain layout" as its core, and through the "direct shipment - deep processing - domestic sales" model, it diverts targeted cargo flows from China and Indonesia, among others. The direct shipping freight volume at Yangpu Port increased by 78% in the first ten months of 2025, forming a structural impact on Singapore's traditional transshipment trade. However, Singapore, relying on its geographical advantage of the Malacca Strait and decades of accumulated global shipping network and financial arbitration service advantages, remains the core hub for transoceanic transshipment trade. Its annual throughput of 41.12 million TEU and mature soft power are not something Hainan can reach in the short term. Now, the Singapore Port Authority has actively signed with Yangpu Port, forming a "dual-hub" collaboration, further confirming that the two are not zero-sum games, but rather a win-win pattern where "Hainan takes on industrial processing and domestic sales portal, while Singapore consolidates global services and transshipment platform" to jointly expand the Asia-Pacific trade cake.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1852715313131527/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.