Zhejiang’s border-inspection authority has unveiled six temporary facilitation measures to speed entry for the 36 000 international participants expected at the fifth Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE) in Hangzhou. From 19–22 September the city already processed 29 000 foreign arrivals, a 6.5 percent week-on-week rise, and traffic is projected to spike further as the event moves into its main programme. Key steps include dedicated clearance lanes at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, multilingual assistance desks and a 24-hour hotline on the national 12367 immigration platform. Port-visa desks can issue single-entry business visas to exhibitors who were unable to secure a Chinese visa overseas in time, provided their invitation letters and health declarations are in order. Inside the expo venue, pop-up immigration counters will handle on-the-spot visa extensions, replacements and residence-permit applications—an unprecedented convenience for digital-economy entrepreneurs exploring longer-term opportunities in the Yangtze River Delta. Corporate travel managers should brief delegates on the paperwork: original passport valid at least six months, digital headshot, proof of onward ticket and hotel booking. Processing times are estimated at 15–20 minutes for biometric capture and clearance, significantly shorter than the normal 45-minute peak-hour average. The measures illustrate how provincial authorities are experimenting with agile border-management tools ahead of the 2027 Asian Games and could become a model for other major trade fairs such as the China International Import Expo in Shanghai.
Source: InZhejiang (ezhejiang.gov.cn)
