Foreigners living in the Jimingshan community of Yiwu gather for a Chinese New Year's Eve dinner in February 2026. [Photo/CHINA DAILY]

Through effective grassroots governance, Yiwu city has bridged cultural and institutional divides, delivering tangible benefits to global traders. Its unique soft power helps attract and retain international talent, enabling them to integrate into the city's economic and social development.

Syrian businessman Mfadi Diab Aishara first arrived in Yiwu in 2003, seeking entrepreneurial opportunities despite having no capital. Attracted by the city's thriving business environment, he decided to settle permanently in 2006. Today, he is a married father-of-one and runs his own trading company in the city.

"I came here with nothing. Now, I have a Chinese wife, a child and a stable business," he said, expressing gratitude to Yiwu for providing him with entrepreneurial opportunities, a stable life and a fresh start.

Aishara is among many foreigners who have established roots in Yiwu, a city that hosts approximately 28,000 to 30,000 permanent foreign residents.

The Jimingshan community, where Aishara resides, is one of the primary hubs for foreign merchants in the city. According to Jing Jing, the Party secretary of the Jimingshan community, there are 1,388 permanent foreign residents from 74 countries and regions living there. Among them are large populations from Yemen, Syria, Iran and other Middle Eastern nations involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

"Our community gathers residents from different nationalities, cultures and ethnic groups. Interwoven diverse demands bring unique challenges in management, communication and cultural integration that ordinary communities do not face," said Jing.

Front-line governance hurdles have long included language barriers, foreign residents' limited familiarity with local laws and regulations, and inconsistent public awareness of community governance rules — gaps that complicate routine safety inspections, policy promotion and daily community management work.

To address these challenges, the Jimingshan community launched a Confucius Classroom in 2014, offering free Chinese language courses.

"Foreign merchants urgently need practical business Mandarin for daily trade. In the early years, they could only rely on translators, which was inconvenient and easily caused communication misunderstandings that harmed business cooperation," Jing explained.

The community has adopted an innovative volunteer-for-training model. Foreign participants gain free access to the language courses after completing 72 hours of community volunteer service. The mutually beneficial mechanism has trained over 130,000 foreign residents in the past 12 years.

Many foreign graduates have continued to engage in community services after finishing the courses. Five outstanding participants now work as volunteer tutors, teaching local merchants widely used trade languages including Spanish and Arabic.

"This not only meets the business needs of local vendors but also provides foreign residents with a sense of value and belonging," Jing said.

Beyond language support, the community has set up a one-stop foreign affairs service platform, integrating 65 decentralized administrative services. The full-spectrum service covers company registration, tax filing, rental registration, bank account and SIM card applications, children's schooling and medical consultation.

"New arrivals can head straight to the community right after landing at the airport and get all paperwork done here," Jing said.

While institutional services underpin stable residency, regular cultural exchange programs advance Sino-foreign integration. The community holds more than 230 multicultural activities every year, covering Chinese heritage, traditional culture and festive celebrations.

Events range from Yiwu's traditional culture study tours, calligraphy, martial arts, Yueju Opera and Wuju Opera experiences, to Dragon Boat Festival rituals and Chinese New Year gatherings. For 10 consecutive years, foreign families have been invited to local households to share Chinese New Year dinners and make dumplings, helping bridge cultural gaps and strengthen foreign residents' sense of belonging.

A Nepalese resident in the community has become an unofficial goodwill ambassador for Yiwu. When traveling overseas for business, he brings local souvenirs such as wooden rattles and cultural gifts instead of products from his home country, proudly identifying himself as part of the city, which Jing said warms the hearts of community workers.

To improve services, the community team has visited Gubei Civic Center in Hongqiao subdistrict, Shanghai, a benchmark for one-stop comprehensive services for international residents.

The Jimingshan community plans to break geographical boundaries to build an international community cluster. It will share resources and co-organize activities with other foreign resident communities across Yiwu.

"We welcome all foreign friends to settle here, leverage their strengths and contribute to the city's development," Jing added.