It’s a pleasure to be in Beijing with you all in this golden season of autumn. Tonight, we will talk about friendship and cooperation, as we enjoy delicious food. Over 100 years ago, Hainanese chicken rice was brought to Southeast Asia by emigrants from Hainan, and quickly gained popularity there. A plate of boiled tender chicken, a side of sauce, and a bowl of chicken oil rice are not only a delicious memory of home for those overseas Hainanese, but also a tangible manifestation of Hainan’s long-standing connection with Southeast Asian nations. So, I’d like to present “Hainanese Chicken Rice” today and highlight its three flavors.
There’s a “taste of home” in the first flavor. As a symbol of family joy and harmony, “Hainanese Chicken Rice” is an essential part of any festival or family ceremony in Hainan. The spread of Hainanese chicken rice throughout ASEAN countries has created a familial link among us. When ASEAN friends visited Hainan, the locals would be hospitable and welcoming, entertaining them with chicken and other delicious food, as said in a Chinese poem.
Hainan hosted the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 and the 3rd China International Consumer Products Expo in the first half of this year, attracting a number of national leaders from ASEAN countries, including Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, as well as provincial and ministerial leaders. Many of today’s guests are old friends of the Hainanese people.
Hainan has reopened and launched eight passenger air routes to ASEAN countries since 2023, including Haikou to Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Sanya to Jakarta, and others. We look forward to restarting or opening flight routes with ASEAN countries in the future, which would shorten and simplify future trips “home”. I’d like to take this opportunity to invite all of you and your families to Hainan anytime.
The “taste of creation” best describes the second flavor. The success of “Hainanese Chicken Rice” is a tribute to the tenacity and determination of the Hainan people, who overcame obstacles, sailed into foreign lands, and started fresh.
Even now, the Hainan people are committed to the “spirit of creation in the seas,” accelerating the establishment of a free trade port with Chinese characteristics and a high-level policy of opening up. We plan to use our strategic location as a gateway between two of the world’s most dynamic markets—Southeast Asia and the Chinese mainland—to create a headquarters base for Chinese enterprises expanding into Southeast Asia and the international market and a headquarters base for Southeast Asian and other international companies looking to tap into the Chinese market (referred to as the “Two Bases”).
Hainan is planning to set up the Southeast Asia Investment Center in Haikou as a supporting project of the “Two Bases”. The Cambodia (Haikou) Business Center Co., Ltd. has been established. Hainan is being eyed as the location for the future China regional headquarters of companies like the ACE Investment Bank and the Nanyang Learning Hub, both of which are based in Malaysia. Brunei has also made it clear that it plans to set up a business office in Hainan.
From January to July this year, Hainan’s total import and export volume with ASEAN reached 19.04 billion yuan. ASEAN has become Hainan’s largest trading partner and the primary destination for outbound investment. We intend to build on our current partnership with ASEAN countries to further investigate opportunities for joint ventures in sectors including cross-border industrial park development, agricultural product processing and trade, and others.
The third flavor is the “taste of harmony.” The many variations of Hainanese chicken rice show how accommodating the cuisine can be. Chicken broth is a popular topping for rice balls in Malaysia, and in Thailand, chicken and rice are often combined in a stir fry.
“Harmony in diversity” best describes this, in my opinion. At the opening ceremony of the Chengdu FISU World University Games this year, President Xi Jinping noted that civilizations take different forms, making the world colorful and diverse. People can and should be able to view diversity from an equal, inclusive, and friendly perspective, and champion the common values of humanity. Hainan launched the “Global Free Trade Zone (Port) Partnership Initiative” in March of this year.
The goal of this initiative is to increase understanding and respect among the world’s free trade ports through communication, cooperation, and exchange. Malaysia’s Port Klang Free Zone and Cambodia’s Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone, are both part of the project, among ASEAN nations. Together, we can start a new chapter in the promotion of the development of a shared future for mankind, and we warmly welcome other free trade zones (ports) of ASEAN countries to join us.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Hainan Free Trade Port is a place full of opportunities and dreams. The Hainan Free Trade Port doesn’t just benefit Hainan but also the entire world. I hope my introduction will let you know more about Hainan and become more interested in it. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the ASEAN-China Center and the Indonesian Embassy in China for facilitating this event and opening a channel of dialogue. I hope everyone has a good evening! I once again invite you all to Hainan! Thank you!
Speech by Dai Zhen, Director-General of Hainan Foreign Affairs Office
ASEAN-China Center, 27/08/2023
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