China's southern island province of Hainan has expanded a pilot policy that exempts duties on domestic sales of value-added processed goods, as part of the efforts to strengthen local manufacturing and advance the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port.

As of October, 129 firms had been approved for the pilot scheme. They generated about 11.1 billion yuan (about 1.57 billion U.S. dollars) in domestic sales and have benefited from roughly 860 million yuan (about 122 million U.S. dollars) in waived duties, Haikou Customs said on Friday.

The policy was launched in Hainan's Yangpu Bonded Port Area in 2021, extended to key industrial parks outside special customs-supervised zones in late 2022, and has been open to eligible firms across the Free Trade Port since September 2024.