Chinese tennis sensation Zheng Qinwen served up another stellar performance at the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia's Riyadh on Wednesday to move into the semi-final stage of the season-ending showpiece.
Zheng, who stunned the tennis world by claiming an outstanding Olympic singles gold medal in Paris in the summer, booked her spot in the semis with an emphatic win over Italy's Jasmine Paolini in her last round-robin match.
Paolini, who has herself enjoyed a strong season after reaching the finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon, was comprehensively outplayed by Zheng, who powered her way to an impressive 6-1, 6-1 victory to move into the final four.
The 22-year-old Zheng has now extended her winning record against Paolini to four matches over their previous encounters, and will now be eying up further glory to cap off a break-out year which saw her reach her first Grand Slam final in Australia and claim a memorable Olympic gold.
Zheng's victory also makes her the first Chinese female tennis player to advance from the group stage in her WTA Finals debut.
Chinese tennis ace Zheng Qinwen advances to semi final stage of WTA Finals
To meet the timeline of starting independent customs operations by the end of 2025, the government of south China's Hainan province issued a series of regulations to stipulate import and export management of Free Trade Port (FTP), with two major documents on environmental safety and medicine import put into effect recently.
To further explain the effects and scope of the two documents, the local government held press conferences on Monday and Tuesday.
The "Several Provisions on the Management of Entry Environmental Safety Access in the Hainan Free Trade Port" took effect on Wednesday, which clarified the scopes and responsibilities regarding potential environmental issues of vessels and import products.
"The document regulates the access management of special items such as hazardous waste, remanufactured products, carry-on items of entry personnel, and radioactive materials. Meanwhile, it clarifies that the storage sites for transit goods should meet environmental safety management requirements, to avoid environmental pollution," said Di Weijie, deputy director of the Department of Ecology and Environment of Hainan Province.
In addition, the administrative rule on zero-tariff import of medicines and medical devices in Hainan Free Trade Port was put into effect on Tuesday, stipulating that before Hainan FTP starts independent customs operations, medical institutions, higher medical education institutions, and pharmaceutical research institutes registered in the Hainan's Boao Lecheng Pilot Zone with independent legal status and approved eligibility can import designated pharmaceuticals and medical devices under the zero-tariff policy.
"The scope [of medicines and medical devices imported under 'zero-tariff' policy] consists of two categories: imported pharmaceuticals and medical devices already approved for registration in China, and specially licensed pharmaceuticals and medical devices for the Boao Lecheng Pilot Zone," said Jia Ning, director of Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone Administration, during the press conference.
With policy supports and related efforts like the Ever Lasting International Innovation Medicine Exhibition held in the Boao Lecheng Pilot Zone, medicine and health care is expected to be a new pillar industry for Hainan.
New regulations clarify environment, medicine import issues in Hainan Free Trade Port
