Workers install decorative panels and lighting on the landmark arch of the Ningbo area of the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, on May 29, 2021. [Photo/IC]

The Ningbo area of the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone has seen its pilot reform for cross-border trade and investment openness exceed $100 billion in total transactions.

Previously, foreign-trade payments required contracts, invoices, and customs declarations, often involving lengthy bank reviews. Now, companies recognized as "high-quality" enterprises can enjoy document-free processing, allowing cross-border fund settlements to be approved within minutes.

Since launching the pilot in January 2022, the area has cultivated 384 such "high-quality" enterprises for cross-border trade settlement, with more than 70 percent of them being small and medium-sized enterprises.

Aligning with global economic and trade rules, the Ningbo area has introduced a series of innovative cross-border financial policies to meet enterprises' diversified financing needs in emerging trade models. Several of its pioneering measures have since been replicated and promoted across other national pilot free trade zones.

First set up in Zhoushan, 2017, China (Zhejiang) Free Trade Pilot Zone has been making great efforts to liberalize further trade in the area, as well as promote common prosperity and integration of the Yangtze River Delta region.

The zone expanded in 2020 after receiving approval from the State Council to add Ningbo, Hangzhou, and Jinhua-Yiwu areas to its existing Zhoushan area.