BEIJING—China is encouraging its southern island of Hainan to develop horse racing and introduce a raft of reforms as Beijing pushes the tropical tourism destination as a beacon of openness.
The province will be urged to explore opening new types of lotteries connected to sports and international competitions, according to the guiding opinion jointly issued by the Communist Party Central Committee and State Council which was published Saturday by state news agency Xinhua.
It marks a change of tack for the Communist government which has long banned most forms of gambling in mainland China and comes against the backdrop of its massive campaign against corruption.
The plan aims to make Hainan, an island off China’s southern coast, a “trial free trade zone” to try out the reforms Beijing has pledged to bring to the mainland for years with few tangible successes.
