Conclusions : prospects for the future economic development of Hainan Province

Abstract

Those in Hainan are best positioned to reflect on past accomplishments and to speculate on their island's future. Both of us, on the other hand, are outsiders, having had the privilege of visiting Hainan on a few occasions and for short sojourns in each of these. However, it is sometimes useful to get input from 'islanders from away'; to turn their gaze on an island with which they have started to become more familiar as a result of a growing partnership. And the islanders, of Hainan in this case, can reap the benefits of such outsiders looking in, making the familiar strange and looking at their world and its challenges with fresh pairs of eyes. Rather than summarize the chapters in this Annual Report, we have therefore opted to conclude this book by undertaking this exercise of introspection, asking ourselves two central questions: (1) what are the key development successes and problems currently facing Hainan? and (2) what are the prospects for the future development of this island? We reflect on these powerful questions from our assessment of island studies literature generally, and from what we have learned of Hainan's own development trajectory.