In March, as soon as the epidemic in Yiwu was effectively under control, the head of Kaweiluo called Zhang Junyu and welcomed her to come to Yiwu for an internship. “The boss called me several times and offered me detailed information about salary, recruitment planning, and the development direction of the company. He also told me that Yiwu has rental subsidies for new graduates and we can even enjoy a subsidy of 300,000 RMB for house purchase,” Zhang Junyu said. She also remarked that it is for these reasons that she made up her mind and came to Yiwu from Luoyang, Henan on March 5.

In order to attract more talents, Yiwu has formulated more than 20 detailed rules and regulations, covering talents’ cultivation, housing, their children’s education, and small secured loans, establishing an excellent policy system for talents.

“To help enterprises effectively cope with the impact of COVID-19, Yiwu issued ‘Opinions on Guaranteeing Enterprises’ Employment in the Epidemic of COVID-19’ and other preferential policies, including giving companies subsidies for bus rental and recruitment of new workers, offering subsidies for returning employees, and providing three-day free accommodation for new job seekers,” said the spokesperson of the Yiwu Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.

In addition, Yiwu has created a talent supply chain and a talent service chain to provide a high-quality entrepreneurial environment for graduates. Eligible entrepreneurs can apply for a guaranteed loan of up to 300,000 RMB; two or more entrepreneurs who start a partnership can enjoy a guaranteed loan of up to 500,000 RMB, and the government grants subsidized loans.

Since the beginning of this year, the Organization Department of the Yiwu Municipal Party Committee, the Yiwu Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, and the Yiwu Market Development Committee have successfully organized 92 online job fairs, in which a total of 3,123 companies participated. In three months, Yiwu has attracted more than 9,800 college students, the number of which has exceeded that in the first half of last year, holding up well in the epidemic. Among all the companies, 1,040 e-commerce companies have attracted 204,000 online applicants altogether, including 2,405 college students. In addition to online recruitment, relevant departments in Yiwu, together with 18 companies, held on-site job fairs tailored to industrial talents and college students.

Spokespeople of the Organization Department of the Yiwu Municipal Party Committee said that it is necessary to innovate ways of recruiting talents while doing a good job in epidemic prevention and control, with the aim to provide sufficient brainpower for enterprises’ resumption of work and production and Yiwu’s construction of “two model cities¹.” (By Chen Yangbo, translated by Shen Yingying, edited by Mariam Ayad)