On December 10, 2021, the twenty-seventh keynote speech of the "Fudan Transnational Corporations and Law Forum" and the first episode of this Forum's special series of "TNCs and Financial Law" was held successfully online. The speech entitled "Financial Openness System of the Hainan Free Trade Port: Current Situation, Problems and Thoughts" wasdelivered by Professor HAN Long of Hainan University Law School, commented by Professor ZHANG Qinling of Shanghai University of International Business and Economics Law School and Professor JI Ligang of Fudan University  Law School, and hosted by Professor CAI Congyan of Fudan University Law School.

Professor HAN kicked off the speech with an analysis of the financial needs and opportunities brought by the high-level openness of the Hainan Free Trade Port（HFTP）. For example, the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investments demand strong financial support, which brings both challenges and opportunities for the high-level openness to be acquired in the HFTP. The global capital attracted to the HFTP by its preferential tax treatments exemplifies how international funds would become a sustainable source for the management and the use of capital by the HFTP. Subsequently, Professor HAN examined in detail the existing laws and regulations applicable to the HFTP, especially their shortcomings regarding the liberalization and regulation of the financial market. Based on this, Professor HAN came up with some innovative suggestions on further opening the HFTP's financial market, including the sectors of the financial market that the HFTP's closing operation should cover, how to learn from the experience of the OECD in advancing the reform of the capital account management system so as to promote this system's degree of liberalization, whether and how responsible department of the HFTP should issue independent currency within this area, how to promote the development of the financial market through institutional innovation, and how to make good use of the legislative power stipulated by the HFTP regulations to provide legal guarantees for the HFTP financial reform.

Professor ZHANG Qinling contributed insightful comments on the issuance of independent currency by the HFTP. He expressed concerns over the chaos of two monetary systems that might be caused by the issuance of independent currency in the HFTP and proposed that the U.S. dollar can be introduced to the HFTP to improve its level of financial openness.

Professor JILigang identified the common problems of the Lingang Special Area and the HFTP in elevating the degree of financial openness and proposed suggestions on how different free trade areas can utilize their functional advantages in liberalizing and facilitating the free movement of trade and investment. In his capacity as the Executive Dean of the China Institute for Law and Finance of Fudan University, Professor JI invites Professor HAN and Professor ZHANG to strengthen academic exchanges and cooperation in the future.

In the Q&A session, Professor HAN and the audience had further discussions on the issuance of independent currency, the closing operation, capital account liberalization, and other related issues of the HFTP’s Financial openness.

On December 17, 2021, the Forum will host the twenty-eighth keynote speech entitled "Legal Issues of Cross-border Bank Bankruptcy and Disposal" by GUO Shuai, Assistant Professor of China University of Political Science and Law.