A high-level delegation from the U.S. state of Hawaii has visited southern China's Hainan Province. It's the first such visit in many years after their sister-state relationship was established in 1992. The two sides held in-depth exchanges on tropical agricultural technology, education, culture and the coffee industry. The Hawaiian delegation, composed of state senators, business leaders and agricultural experts, showed interest in the preferential zero-tariff policies of the Hainan Free Trade Port.

RALPH GASTON Hawaiian Coffee Exporter "And so an opportunity like this is an opportunity to connect the two regions together with trade. Made a little bit easier without some of the additional costs that can sometimes come with trading into ports or into areas where there are tariffs or fees applied. I also think that there may be an opportunity for some of our coffee roasters to send beans over and showcase them as well. And there can also be an opening to have people in Hawaii sample beans from Hainan, get a taste of the unique flavors here and get a sense of what this island can bring to the coffee world."

LYNN PUALANI DECOITE Member, Hawaii State Senate Committee on Economic Development and Tourism "Having to have this conversation and having the exchange of how can we help each other, has brought in my eyes to what we can do economically via tourism, via agriculture. We talked about energy and other things, biodiversity that I see Hainan also has prioritized. I think that will be a huge game changer and more. So at the Free trade, Free trade is huge, I think, for both of us."

DENNIS SUO Executive Director State of Hawaii Office in Beijing "We're thinking about whether we can use Hainan Free Trade Port as a gateway to bring Hawaiian coffee into the Hainan market – and from there, expand into the broader Chinese mainland market. After all, the Free Trade Port offers zero-tariff policies, right? Especially in today's global environment where tariffs are increasing in many regions, this presents an excellent opportunity for Hawaii's coffee industry."