"It was the healthy environment and the passion of the local companies that attracted me," said Zhang Junyu, an intern at Kaweiluo E-Commerce Company in Dongyu Intelligent Logistics Park. Zhang is a fresh graduate in human resource management from Henan Shangqiu University.

"My boss called me several times and offered me detailed information about salary, recruitment planning, and the company's vision. He also told me that Yiwu offers rent subsidies for new graduates and offers up to 300,000 yuan for those looking to buy a house,” Zhang said.

In order to attract more talents, Yiwu has formulated more than 20 detailed rules and regulations involving talent cultivation, housing support, childhood education, and small secured loans.

To help enterprises cope with the impact of COVID-19, Yiwu has issued preferential policies such as offering companies subsidies for bus rentals and for the recruitment of new workers, offering stipends to returning employees, and providing three days of free accommodation for new jobseekers, according to the human resources and social security bureau of Yiwu.

In addition, eligible entrepreneurs can apply for a guaranteed loan of up to 300,000 yuan, and two or more entrepreneurs who start a partnership can enjoy a guaranteed loan of up to 500,000 yuan. The government will also offer partial interest subsidies.

Since the beginning of this year, the city has held 92 online job fairs attracting a total of 3,123 companies. Over the course of three months, Yiwu has attracted more than 9,800 college students, more than in the first half of last year.

Around 1,040 e-commerce companies in the city have attracted 204,000 online applicants, including 2,405 college students.

"Yiwu is a city with many international communities and offers better policy support than Shanghai, Guangzhou, and even Wuxi, a city where I studied and lived for years," said Afzal Ahmad, a Pakistani postgraduate from Jiangnan University in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. He plans to work at Yiwu Lanyu Digital Technology Co, a high-tech enterprise involved in the digital printing industry.