Zadar County and China's Hainan province signed a charter of friendship at the Boao Forum for Asia 2018, an annual conference for leaders and entrepreneurs from Asia and the rest of the world held in China, on Monday.

The charter, establishing friendship between the two regions, was signed by the Zadar County Prefect, Božidar Longin, and the Hainan Governor, Shen Xiaoming.

“We discussed cooperation in the fields of tourism, economy, culture and education. We invited the governor (Xiaoming) to visit the Zadar County and he accepted our invitation with pleasure,” Longin said.

The charter of friendship means that future relations will not focus just on tourism. Direct flights from China to Zadar operated by Hainan Airlines are planned, as well as logistical cooperation with the Zadar sea port.

“Cooperation between our two countries can also be achieved through the development of freight transport with the construction of a ro-ro terminal,” Longin said. “We should not forget the enormous increase in Chinese visitors we have had over the past few years. The introduction of direct flights between Zadar and China would therefore have a positive effect for the entire county,” he added.

Hainan appeared to be the logical choice, Longin said, because of its similarity to southern Croatia. Hainan is China’s southernmost and smallest province, and is considered to be a tourist jewel.