Many Wenzhou natives are working and living across the globe. [Photo/WeChat account: wenzhoufabu]
Wenzhou in East China's Zhejiang province has recently been listed by the National Development and Reform Commission as one of China's case areas for the third round of China-Europe cooperation on regional policy, local media outlets reported.
A total of 22 Chinese cities, high-tech districts and development zones were included, such as Beijing, Hangzhou, Xi'an, Kunming and Hohhot.
The large number of Wenzhou natives working and living across the globe was one reason why the city was listed.
A census carried out in 2014 shows that Wenzhou is home to a total of 688,400 overseas Chinese, Hong Kong and Macao compatriots who have lived in 131 countries and regions, accounting for one third of all Zhejiang-born overseas Chinese. 518,800, or 75.4 percent of them, lived in Europe. Wenzhou has also forged sister-city ties with 13 cities in Europe. A total of 3,784 companies in Wenzhou were invested in by these overseas Chinese.
Wenzhou was authorized by the National Development and Reform Commission in November 2020 to establish a national-level comprehensive development pilot zone for Chinese businessmen and overseas Chinese, the second of its kind in China after the one in Shantou, South China's Guangdong province.
Wenzhou has enjoyed ever stronger trade ties with European Union countries in recent years, as statistics show that from January to May this year, imports and exports between the two sides were valued at 16.63 billion yuan ($2.61 billion), up 30.6 percent year on year and accounting for 19.0 percent of the city's total foreign trade.
Wenzhou has also established a variety of channels to help local companies carry out business in Europe, represented by the Belmax Trade and Logistics Park in Serbia, a high-end provincial-level overseas economic and trade cooperation zone with a total investment of 95 million yuan.
