A business certificate is granted to a foreign businessman in Yiwu. [Photo/Zhejiang Daily]

Yiwu in East China's Zhejiang province has seen a remarkable surge in the number of foreign-funded companies established in the city, according to the municipal market supervision bureau on March 27.

As of March 15, 181 new foreign-funded companies had been established in Yiwu, representing a year-on-year increase of 123 percent.

In a bid to stimulate Yiwu's foreign trade and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the local government has organized four batches of chartered flights, bringing back 564 foreign buyers and bringing purchases to a total of $261 million since August 2022.

The "Ten Measures to Optimize the International Business Environment and Foreign-related Services in Yiwu" was officially implemented on January 1, 2023. It is aimed at facilitating foreign companies’ operations, make living and working in Yiwu more convenient, and improving foreign-related legal services and policy consultations.

Yiwu is currently home to 4,996 foreign-funded companies, accounting for 57 percent of all foreign-funded entities in the city, after a year-on-year increase of 12 percent.

"Foreign-funded companies have demonstrated strong development resilience over the three years of the pandemic and are the cornerstone of stable growth for foreign-funded entities," said an authority at the municipal market supervision bureau.

"Yiwu will continue to enhance its international business environment, optimize foreign-related services, and encourage more foreign investors to seize upon Yiwu's development."