Hai-Eu Dialogue Series – Part I: Institutional Opening Up: Advancing Free Trade Port Governance and Connectivity
Ports are strategic gateways where trade, infrastructure, regulation, and international relations intersect. Amid supply-chain disruptions and geopolitical uncertainty, European and Chinese ports have assumed greater importance in sustaining maritime trade and stability, even as they operate under different institutional and regulatory systems. Against this backdrop, the launch of full-scale customs operations at the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) in 2025 brings renewed attention to port governance, trade resilience, and its wider implications for the regional order.
These developments raise a central question: How can ports combine effective governance, strong hinterland connections, and international cooperation to serve as gateways between maritime and inland economies?
The inaugural webinar of the Hai-Eu Dialogue Series brings together perspectives from Europe and China to explore how institutional opening up, port governance, hinterland connectivity, and regional cooperation can enhance the role of (free) trade ports. Through a peer-to-peer exchange, the speakers will identify shared challenges, complementary strengths, and opportunities for closer ties between European ports and the Hainan FTP.
The discussion will examine the importance of hinterland connectivity through the experiences of Antwerp and Rotterdam, the Hainan FTP’s potential as a platform for regional maritime cooperation, and the divergences and synergies between European ports and Hainan. It will also consider which governance practices and policy experiences may be transferable across different institutional and regional settings.
Speakers:
Dr. Joost Hintjens, Lecturer and Researcher, Department of Transport and Regional Economics, University of Antwerp
Guo Wenqin, Deputy Dean, Hainan Free Trade Port Research Institute
She specializes in Hainan’s reform and development and the evolution of the Hainan Free Trade Port. She has contributed extensively to academic and policy research, including national and provincial projects and policy advisory studies.
Dr. Daniel Balazs, Senior Research Analyst, Institute for China-Europe Studies
He specializes in Chinese foreign policy and China–Europe relations, with particular attention to the strategic dynamics connecting Asia and Europe. He is also an Adjunct Fellow with the China Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
Moderator: Yifei Zhu, Research Fellow at ISDP’s Stockholm China Center
About the Hai-Eu Dialogue Series:
The Hai-Eu Dialogue: Europe–China Perspectives on Ocean Governance and Sustainable Development in the Era of the Hainan Free Trade Port (“海欧”传声：海南自由贸易港时代的中欧海洋治理与可持续发展对话) is a joint initiative of the Stockholm China Center at the Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP), the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Policy, and the Institute for China-Europe Studies (ICES). Drawing on the three institutions’ expertise in international relations and maritime affairs, the series provides a Track II platform for exchanges among experts, practitioners, and the wider public. It seeks to foster mutual understanding, facilitate policy dialogue, and examine the scope for closer coordination between Europe and China on maritime issues.