The negative list on cross-border trade in services in Hainan constitutes a key step towards adopting a coordinated approach in furthering opening up services market. From this perspective, the List not only represents the high-level openness of service industry in Hainan Free Trade Port, but also exhibits its experimental value for China’s negotiating international economic and trade treaties. Despite a breakthrough, the List also leaves some room for improvement: on the one hand, the format of the List and the classification of sectors are distinct and incompatible with international treaties including the CPTPP, RCEP; on the other hand, the uncertainty of the catch-all clause and the blurred regulation for Mode 4 (the presence of natural persons) weaken the predictability of the List, which may harm the confidence of foreign service providers. In order to improve the current List and offer more practical first-hand experience for formulating national version of negative list for cross-border trade in services and facilitating the negotiation of international treaties, it is advisable to redesign and rearrange the format, classification standards and miscellaneous provisions.