The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road
Islands Economic Cooperation Forum
ANNUAL REPORT ON GLOBAL ISLANDS 2018

The Annual Report on Global Islands 2018, published by Island Studies Press in partnership with the Foreign Affairs Office of Hainan Province, was launched at the Boao Island Economic Cooperation Forum in April 2019.

Executive Editor-in-Chief is Dr. James Randall, working with Editor Dr. Laurie Brinklow and Designer Joan Sinclair.

“This edition of the Annual Report on Global Islands retains the best of previous editions, including a summary of the Islands Economic Forum held in 2018 and the most current statistics on a select group of island states and subnational island jurisdictions. However, it also goes into much more depth on some of the key issues linking islands to the rest of the world. This includes the significance of islands as centres of offshore finance, islands as free ports and free trade zones, and the importance of the ‘marine economy’ on and surrounding islands. It includes contributions from some of the leading international and Chinese experts in these areas. We hope that this engages readers, inspires further discussion on island development, and strengthens the role that the island of Hainan plays as one of the key sites leading this discussion.”

JAMES RANDALL, EXECUTIVE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE
Wang Sheng
Director General, Foreign Affairs Office of Hainan Province, P.R. of China

PART I: A BACKGROUND TO ISLAND ECONOMIES

INTRODUCTION and Summary of the 2018 Boao Island Economic Cooperation Forum
James Randall
University of Prince Edward Island, Canada

Chapter 1: The ongoing state of island economies
James Randall and Adam Brimacombe
University of Prince Edward Island, Canada

PART II: ISLAND DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 2: Distance Matters: Near islands, remote islands, and the effect of distance on island development
Godfrey Baldacchino
University of Malta

Chapter 3: The impact of natural and ecological factors on the development of South Pacific island economies
Wang Sheng, Director General, Foreign Affairs Office of Hainan Province, P.R. of China;
Huang Danying, Associate Professor, College of Foreign Languages, Hainan University; and
Zhong Tianxiang, Director, Foreign Affairs Office of Hainan Provincial People’s Government

Chapter 4: Marine economies: Drivers, roles and challenges
Adam Grydehøj
Island Dynamics, Denmark

PART III: FREE TRADE AND CONNECTEDNESS – ISLANDS IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

Chapter 5: The experience of islands with free ports and free trade zones
Alexandre Lavissière
Ecole de Management de Normandie, France

Chapter 6: Islands as offshore financial centres: The free(r) flow of capital
William Vlcek
University of St. Andrews, Scotland

Chapter 7: A primer on building successful economic environments on islands
Marie Briguglio, Stefano Moncada, and Gordon Cordina
University of Malta

Chapter 8: Hainan Island: From a pilot free trade zone to a free trade port with Chinese characteristics
Chi Fulin
President, China Institute for Reform and Development

Chapter 9: The 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road: A perspective from China on a network of free trade areas
Feng Aipeng and Den Yuncheng
Island Research Centre of the Ministry of Natural Resources, People’s Republic of China

CONCLUSIONS: Prospects for the future of Hainan Province
James Randall, Godfrey Baldacchino

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