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

Further on, Zhejiang is planning to develop the FTZ into a demonstration zone for the development of the digital economy. According to the plan, the demonstration zone initially includes the entirety of Hangzhou, the first comprehensive cross-border e-commerce pilot area in the country, and later adds Ningbo and Jinhua in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Jinhua-Yiwu, Ningbo and Zhoushan areas are jointly building up the Yiwu-Ningbo-Zhoushan corridor, which will become an economic powerhouse that helps form a new trade mode of small and bulk commodities.

Promote common prosperity

"Building Zhejiang into a demonstration zone for achieving prosperity asks for the interconnected development between areas in Zhejiang FTZ," noted Hu Zhenfang, deputy director of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce.

To stimulate the development of surrounding areas in Zhejiang province, six interconnected innovation areas, including Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Jiaxing, Jinhua and Taizhou, were approved by the Zhejiang provincial government in 2019.

The second batch of interconnected innovation areas was announced in June, including Huzhou, Shaoxing, Quzhou and Lishui.