How did over ten thousand foreign-funded business entities settle in Yiwu

At night, Chengbei Road in Yiwu City, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province is bustling with activity, and a row of exotic restaurants along the street are filled with Chinese and foreign customers. In the Niusar restaurant, Bisa from Nepal is busy greeting a table of guests with his wife.

This New Year's Day, the store was full from morning till night, "Bisa exclaimed in fluent Chinese as she handed the menu to the customers. He and his wife have been working hard in Yiwu for over 10 years and have seen many new years, but the bustling scene before them still allows them to once again truly touch the warmth and vitality of this city.

A medical PhD student from Pakistan who started a consulting company across borders; Türkiye investors who have founded three companies in 10 years have become larger and larger in foreign trade business; Traders from Syria have opened two specialty restaurants... These exciting investment stories all take place in Yiwu, a county-level city with over 80000 shops and known as the "world supermarket".

Since the first foreign-funded business entity settled in Yiwu in the late 1980s, Yiwu has continuously deepened reform and expanded opening up, attracting global factor aggregation with a market-oriented, rule of law, and international business environment. Nowadays, Yiwu is home to over 10000 foreign-funded business entities from more than 160 countries and regions, covering 14 industries such as commercial services and modern logistics. Their arrival has made Yiwu more vibrant.

Seizing the opportunity, medical students cross industry into business

The openness and vitality of this city deeply attracted me

I didn't expect to get my business license so quickly. Doing business in Yiwu is so convenient. "In July last year, Ali Kamlan obtained the business license of his new company and became the 10000th foreign-funded operating entity in Yiwu.

Ali Kamran was born in Pakistan and came to China to study in 2007. He has been living in China ever since. In July 2023, Ali Kamlan came to Yiwu to study for the medical doctor's degree of the "the Belt and Road" International Medical School of Zhejiang University. Since then, his affinity with Yiwu has become deeper and deeper.

The openness and vitality of this city deeply attracted me, "said Ali Kamlan. Every time I walked into Yiwu International Trade City, I was infected by the strong commercial atmosphere and gradually developed entrepreneurial ideas.

Since my friends found out that I am in Yiwu, my phone has become a hotline for consultation, "said Ali Kamlan. He is often asked how to do business in Yiwu. Which market has the most complete supply of goods, how to do cross-border e-commerce, how to find reliable logistics companies... Each question made him realize that these are business opportunities.

So, Ali Kamlan established Yiwu Ava Business Information Consulting Co., Ltd. As a business service platform rooted in Yiwu and connecting China and Pakistan, the company not only provides a "one-stop Yiwu procurement solution" for Middle Eastern and African buyers, but also provides support for Yiwu merchants to explore overseas markets. Yiwu is an open and inclusive international entrepreneurial city, and I am very happy doing business here, "said Ali Kamlan.

Ali Kamlan often brings his family to Yiwu. In his opinion, Yiwu is not only an ideal business place, but also a livable living circle. A "foreign business friend card" embedded with various service functions such as clothing, food, housing, and transportation, to facilitate foreign business operators' business and daily life; The "Yang Niangjiu" Mediation Office innovates mediation models to help resolve foreign-related disputes; Issuing vocational competence certificates for foreign talents to facilitate employment channels; The government service window provides multilingual services to make life more convenient... These measures enable foreign businesses to live and work in peace and contentment in Yiwu.

I often hear a saying: If you have a dream, come to Yiwu. This city provides us with opportunities and a stage to pursue our dreams, "said Ali Kamlan.

Convenient policies make foreign trade business better and better

The reform measures have greatly improved the efficiency of foreign trade exports

In the workshop of Yiwu Yitai Trade Co., Ltd., located in Fotang Town, Anas from Türkiye is carefully checking whether the weight and width of a batch of cloth meet the standards. In his office, various women's dresses were hung on hangers. In Yiwu, our company connects with customers from different countries, making it convenient to display samples and find goods for customers at any time, "Anas said.

In 2023, Anas partnered with local businessman Xu Hangfei in Yiwu to establish this company specializing in cross-border clothing trade, which is also Anas' third enterprise founded in Yiwu. Nowadays, Xu Hangfei is mainly responsible for production management, while Anas focuses on market sales. The two have clear division of labor and cooperate well.

In 2015, Anas founded its first trading company in Yiwu. Over the past 10 years, Anas has accumulated a large number of stable customers from Middle Eastern countries, and its business has been getting better and better. It has also truly experienced the convenience brought by innovative measures.

Previously, due to the wide variety and limited quantity of exported small commodities, there were usually more than ten types of goods in a container, and it was difficult to declare them all clearly, "Anas said. Thanks to the implementation of market procurement and trade methods in Yiwu, enterprises can choose simplified declaration for more than 5 types of declared goods, enabling a single container to consolidate a variety of goods and meet the foreign trade needs of small and medium-sized enterprises for small batches, multiple batches, and multiple varieties.

This approach is like opening up a 'fast track' specifically for small and medium-sized foreign trade export enterprises, "Anas said." The reform measures have greatly improved the efficiency of foreign trade exports and made the development of enterprises smoother

The multiple service measures launched in the new round of Yiwu International Trade Comprehensive Reform are continuously empowering foreign business entities, "said Hu Xiaoyang, head of the Information and Propaganda Department of the Comprehensive Service Center of the Yiwu International Trade Comprehensive Reform Pilot Zone Management Committee. During the reform process, in addition to providing convenience for customs clearance of goods, Yiwu has also innovatively established a comprehensive evaluation system for foreign trade talents; An international trade foreign-related labor dispute arbitration tribunal has been established, integrating multiple forces and relying on professional mediation teams and bilingual mediation environment to solve problems in the handling of foreign-related labor disputes, allowing foreign investors to truly feel the "Yiwu temperature".

Efficient service, constantly expanding business scope

Rooted in Yiwu, I have more confidence in the future

Please taste our newly launched desserts, "said Xiao An, the person in charge of Outan Restaurant, warmly serving specialty desserts to customers in the Binwang Business District of Yiwu.

Having lived in Yiwu for 17 years, Xiao An from Syria can speak fluent Mandarin. Many of my Syrian fellow villagers are doing business in Yiwu now, and we often keep in touch. When it comes to the changes in recent years, Xiao An's biggest feeling is that more and more foreigners are coming to Yiwu for development.

In addition to being a restaurant operator, Xiao'an is also the founder of Yiwu Pafa Trading Company. He founded this company in 2013, mainly engaged in cosmetics trading, with products exported to Africa, Europe, South America and other places.

With global merchants gathering and taking root in Yiwu, the average annual growth rate of foreign-funded catering entities in Yiwu has been 20% in the past three years, which has brought new business opportunities to Xiao'an. So, in 2024, Xiao'an opened the Outan Restaurant in Yiwu, expanding its business scope while allowing more foreigners who come here to work hard to taste the taste of their hometown.

Doing business in Yiwu is not only spacious, but also increasingly convenient, "Xiao An said. When applying for restaurant registration procedures, he submitted the application in the morning and obtained the business license in the afternoon, providing efficient services and improving the convenience of entrepreneurship.

Since its opening, the restaurant has had a high foot traffic, receiving over 2000 customers every day during holidays. In February 2025, I opened my second store in Yiwu. Seeing the popularity of my restaurant, Xiao'an plans to expand from Yiwu and open more restaurants in various places. Rooted in Yiwu, I have more confidence in the future

Simplify the foreign language materials for some foreign investors, and foreign natural persons can apply for registration with their foreign permanent residence ID card; Promote the online registration of foreign investment throughout the process, and shorten the time limit for the registration of foreign-funded enterprises from 15 working days to 1 day... "Since the first foreign-funded business entity settled in Yiwu, Yiwu has scientifically controlled the entry of foreign investment, deeply cultivated the experimental field of commercial system reform, actively cultivated the cultivation of foreign-funded business entities, and attracted foreign investment and business here," said Chen Qunyang, head of the Administrative Approval Department of the Yiwu Market Supervision Bureau.

From being renowned for small commodity trade to becoming a "world supermarket" with over ten thousand foreign-funded entities settling in, Yiwu continues to embrace the international market with an open attitude, attracting global investors to settle down and take root.