During the past 2020-2021 academic year, Hainan University's (HNU) international cooperation plan has shown positive initial results.

In 2020, there were eight HNU colleges listed in the university's first batch of the international cooperation plan such as the College of Tropical Crops, the College of Ecology and Environment, the College of Forestry, and the Management School. They carried out joint training for doctoral students and cooperative scientific research with worldwide first-class universities such as the Wageningen University in the Netherlands, the National University of Singapore, the University of Tokyo, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

HNU and New Zealand's Massey University jointly established the Massey Learning Center at HNU. This year Massey University selected 121 students to study at HNU. The International Tourism College cooperated with Arizona State University to organize two master's degree education programs in public management and tourism management that have been approved by the Ministry of Education.

In addition, HNU hosted the 2020 Hainan University Distinguished Scientists Lectures, inviting four Nobel Prize winners and two world top scientists from the International Advisory Committee to hold six academic lectures both online and on-site, which has enhanced the university's influence and academic atmosphere.

HNU also held academic activities such as the Higher Education Forum for Free Trade Port with Distinctive Chinese Features and the Sanya Nanfan Forum, inviting experts from Peking University, Zhejiang University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Sciences to conduct special reports.