A container liner prepares to depart from Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, Zhejiang province. [Photo provided to ezhejiang.gov.cn]

The China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone marked the fifth anniversary of its expansion on Sept 5, highlighting key reforms and development milestones over the past five years.

Approved by the State Council on Aug 30, 2020, the zone's expansion extended coverage beyond the original Zhoushan section to include Ningbo, Hangzhou, and the Jinhua-Yiwu area. Since then, Zhejiang has accumulated a series of institutional innovations and policy breakthroughs.

Over the past five years, Zhejiang has introduced a range of high-level policy documents focusing on reform and opening-up, bulk commodity allocation, international trade reform in Yiwu, and rule-based openness. In total, 23 national-level and 70 provincial-level policy measures have been rolled out to support the zone's development.

The expansion has helped establish a higher-level platform for global cooperation. Since 2020, more than 170,000 new companies have registered in the expanded areas, including over 3,000 foreign-funded firms.

In the maritime services sector, Zhejiang introduced reforms to streamline foreign crew certification processes and launched a national digital platform for crew-related inquiries. The platform has handled more than 160,000 consultations to date.