An aerial view of the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone in Yiwu. [Photo provided by the Information Office of Yiwu Municipal People's Government]
Yiwu, a county-level city in Jinhua, East China's Zhejiang province, has been granted 38 new administrative items under the province's latest round of reforms aimed at boosting foreign business services and urban governance.
According to a notice recently issued by the Zhejiang provincial authorities, the reform package includes 29 items delegated by provincial and Jinhua municipal governments, covering economic development, social management, and institutional empowerment. The remaining nine items will be subject to central government approval.
Key priorities include enabling local authorities to process port visa applications and pre-accept permanent residency documents — issues that have long challenged the city's international service capacity.
Several of the delegated powers are being granted at the provincial level for the first time. These include the establishment of an international trade labor arbitration tribunal within the Yiwu section of the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone and the authority to issue pharmaceutical wholesale licenses to local enterprises.
Yiwu is home to over 13,000 long-term foreign residents, accounting for about 20 percent of Zhejiang's total. Each year, nearly 600,000 visits by foreign traders from more than 120 countries and regions are recorded. The city also hosts 10,227 registered foreign-invested business entities, making it the first county-level city in China to surpass the 10,000 mark.
