Inland city makes mark as global biz hub

Logistics networks lay a solid foundation for the system.

In 2025, the Yixin'ou, also known as the Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe freight trains, ran more than 3,000 services, connecting Jinhua's trade network to over 160 cities across Eurasia. Improved scheduling cut transit times to Duisburg, Germany, by 30 percent, allowing home accessories shipments to reach Germany in about 15 days, roughly 20 days faster than by sea. European imports such as auto parts can clear customs in as little as four hours, while logistics costs are around 60 percent lower than airfreight.

Trade flows of this scale also depend on a favorable business environment.

By standardizing procedures for business registration, visas and taxation, Jinhua has sought to reduce compliance costs for foreign firms. On July 31, Ali Kamran, a Pakistani entrepreneur, saw his business consulting firm become the 10,000th foreign-funded company registered in Yiwu. His application, he said, was processed within a single day. "That predictability allows me to devote my full attention to building the business."

Since its first foreign-invested business opened in 1989, Yiwu has attracted investors from more than 160 countries and regions, with 81 percent coming from Belt and Road partner countries. Administrative reforms have steadily lowered entry costs, cutting business registration time from a statutory 15 working days to less than one. A one-stop international trade service platform now guides firms through market entry, while foreign entrepreneurs have access to education, healthcare and public transport on the same terms as local residents.

This type of institutional support has helped convince many skilled professionals to stay.

Sorin Sirbu, a Romanian businessman, has spent more than a decade in Jinhua building an electric-mobility business whose scooter products reach over 70 countries and regions. His firm holds more than 40 patents, and he has obtained permanent residency. Early guidance on taxation helped keep costs under control, he said, followed by access to Europe via freight trains and targeted policy support, including a 300,000-yuan subsidy for overseas engineering talent. Jinhua has since become his second home.

Openness has also begun to attract creative and technical talent. At Zhejiang Filo Design Co Ltd in Yongkang, Italian designer Lorenzo Brandola collaborates closely with factory teams. "From the design studio to the production line is often just a cup of coffee away," he said, a physical proximity that literally shortens the path from concept to market.

In 2025, Filo recruited more than 10 foreign designers, contributing to sales growth of over 20 percent in mobility-related products, according to company head Ying Yuan.

Between 2021 and 2025, Jinhua registered nearly 7,000 foreign-invested firms from 153 countries and regions, drawing $2 billion of foreign investment. Coming with these investments are foreign talent. By the end of 2025, close to 10,000 foreigners held work permits in the city, with professional talent accounting for more than half.

Jinhua's growth demonstrates that openness is no longer simply defined by proximity to ports, and can be achieved through integrated markets, responsive industries, competitive logistics and reliable institutions.

Xinhua