2020 was a year of lockdowns due to COVID-19. For the same reason, it was also a bumper year for China's luxury goods retailers as Chinese tourists who used to swarm stores around the world on a shopping spree now have to pour their money at the duty-free stores within the national borders.

Hainan, the tropical island province in the southernmost of the country, has been riding on the waves of a consumption boom. Enjoying the advantage of its newly acquired position as a free-trade port, the local government has been issuing licenses for duty-free businesses one after another, introducing competitors to the coveted market.

In an exclusive interview with CGTN, Gao Xujiang, executive director of Sanya Downtown Duty Free Store Co., Ltd. affiliated to CDFG, shares his views on facing growing competition home and abroad and attracting consumers, and the future development of the Chinese duty-free industry.