On Saturday, the state-owned Securities Times reported that an official revealed that China will be opening Hainan to more countries and enable them to visit the island visa-free as a move to open up the island to foreign investment.
In a forum held on Saturday, Chi Fulin, the head of Hainan's China Institute for Reform and Development, said to the attendees that visa-free access policy would be expanded to tourists from all countries which currently has diplomatic ties with China."
State media also quotes him saying "(The implementation) of the policy won't take long."
Currently, at least 59 countries, including the United States, can visit Hainan visa-free and stay up to 30 days.
Chi expects that the population of the island would grow to up to 15 million once the policy is put into account.
By 2020, China is expected to create a free trade zone in Hainan, which would enable multinational companies to set up international and regional headquarters in the island as part of the government's plan to open the province's economy to foreign investments.
