Zhejiang province recently strengthened labor cooperation with other provinces to alleviate labor shortages caused by the epidemic and ensure that local enterprises can resume work smoothly.

Zhejiang has reached labor export agreements with 11 provinces, including Yunnan, Guizhou, Henan and Sichuan. 

Zhejiang will post recruitment information regarding urgently needed jobs in cooperating provinces, which will then send qualified applicants to Zhejiang. Zhejiang will arrange for buses to pick up applicants and monitor their health conditions. 

Applicants must have a health certificate previously issued by local authorities in their hometowns, and employers in Zhejiang will examine their health conditions upon arrival.

Zhejiang also signed a memorandum of understanding with Sichuan to strengthen coordination in information sharing, particular regarding employees' health conditions, as well as whitelist management of migrant workers traveling to Zhejiang.

According to statistics from the Zhejiang Human Resources and Social Security Department, as of Feb 16, Zhejiang had brought back 13,704 employees by chartered bus and train.

"Thanks to the Zhejiang government, who negotiated with the other provinces and sent a charted bus to bring back our employees, our company has resumed normal operations and production capacity is starting to improve," said Xie Yunbo, the HR director of a medical equipment manufacturer in Yuhuan, a county-level city in Taizhou, Zhejiang province.

The province also established a special task force to coordinate organizations, inspect workers and communicate information in different regions.

In addition, many cities in Zhejiang have launched favorable policies to help companies resume production. Hangzhou, Ningbo and Jiaxing launched an online recruitment platform for local residents. Changxing county in Huzhou established a big data labor management platform to match companies and job applicants. Shaoxing implemented an online system to complete employment procedures as well as online skill training for workers.