Ning Ling, a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) and vice president of Zhanjiang-based Guangdong Ocean University, suggested that Guangdong and Hainan provinces should jointly build a coastal tourism economic belt along the Qiongzhou Strait.

Construction of the coastal tourism economic belt will be conductive to strengthening cooperation between Zhanjiang and the China (Hainan) Free Trade Zone, promoting the integrated construction of the Beibu Gulf city cluster, said Ning, adding that it is also beneficial to the coordinated development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Hainan FTZ, and the Beibu Gulf city cluster.

Situated between the Leizhou Peninsula in Zhanjiang and Hainan Island, the Qiongzhou Strait is one of the three largest straits in China. The city clusters in the Beibu Gulf cover Guangdong and Hainan, as well as Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The two provinces should strengthen the top-level design and layout to jointly build the coastal tourism economic belt, said Ning. He suggested that a development plan for the Qiongzhou Strait coastal tourism economic belt should be made to deepen the two province's cooperation in tourism.

Ning noted that off-shore duty-free policies can help improve the tourism environment on both sides of the Qiongzhou Strait, promote tourists' consumption, and advance the development of the two provinces' modern service industries. Hence, he advised setting up duty-free stores in Nanshan Port in Xuwen county, Zhanjiang.

He also suggested that the two provinces should jointly develop the cruise tourism industry, which would be beneficial to the construction of a tourism hub among the Greater Bay Area, the Beibu Gulf, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), while also deepening the economic, tourism, and cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and ASEAN.

In addition, Ning suggested that Zhanjiang start the application for the 144-hour visa-free transit policy at its ports of entry to build itself into a gateway into the western part of Guangdong.

In recent years, Zhanjiang has signed more than 20 agreements with Hainan to conduct cooperation and exchanges in the areas of economy, transportation, tourism, and people's livelihoods.