- The Oriental Hub International Business Cooperation Zone (东方枢纽国际商务合作区) is a State Council-approved international business zone beside Shanghai Pudong International Airport and the Shanghai East railway hub — the master plan was approved in February 2024.
- Its core innovation is personnel, not tariffs: invited overseas businesspeople may enter the zone without a Chinese visa, on a valid international travel document plus a vetted business invitation, for stays of up to 30 days, extendable per zone rules.
- Planned area is around 0.88 km²; a first launch area of roughly 0.44 km² passed closed acceptance in November 2025 and began closed-loop trial operation in late December 2025.
- Reported early usage covers international exhibitions, business exchange and training — tens of thousands of entries in the first weeks by customs count.
- The zone is not a work-permit substitute, a residence route, or a free-trade zone in the tariff sense; its rules are new and still being refined — specifics below are subject to the zone's latest official announcements.
What the zone actually is 合作区是什么
Think of the Oriental Hub as an answer to a logistical question international business has asked about China for years: can my people meet, negotiate, train and exhibit in China at short notice, without visa lead times? The zone's design says yes — within a defined, closed-managed precinct at the airport's doorstep. An overseas executive lands at Pudong, crosses into the zone on the strength of an invitation issued and vetted in advance, and conducts business inside — meetings, exhibitions, training programmes — for up to 30 days per entry, extendable under zone rules. Leaving the zone into the rest of mainland China requires the usual immigration status; the zone boundary is managed on a "closed-loop" basis with customs-style line control.
The concept was approved at the highest level — the State Council's approval of the master plan in February 2024 — and built fast: closed acceptance of the first launch area in November 2025, trial operation from late December 2025. Shanghai Customs reported tens of thousands of person-entries within the first weeks, concentrated in exhibitions, business exchange and training. Functions are expected to expand with later phases toward the full planned footprint.
What the zone is not 合作区不是什么
- Not a work permit. Zone entry authorises short-term business activities inside the zone. Employment in mainland China still runs through the work-permit and residence-permit system — see Employment.
- Not a company registry shortcut. Setting up a Chinese entity follows the ordinary path described in Market Entry; the zone is where you can negotiate it face-to-face at short notice.
- Not a general visa waiver for China. The waiver operates at the zone boundary. China's separate national visa-free transit and entry policies for various nationalities are a different regime with their own conditions.
- Not finished. Rules on invitations, extensions, domestic-side access and permitted activities are being refined through successive announcements — treat every specific parameter as subject to the latest official publication, and verify before committing an event or a delegation.
Why it matters for a foreign company's China plan 对外企的意义
For companies already operating in China, the zone adds a convenient venue for group trainings, supplier days and technical exchanges where overseas participants would otherwise each need visas. For companies still deciding on China, it lowers the cost of the exploratory phase to nearly zero friction: fly the decision-makers in, meet counterparties and advisers in the zone, sign the term sheet — then let the onshore workstream (entity setup, contracts and IP filings) proceed while the principals fly home. That sequencing — zone for the meeting, mainland for the landing — is the practical playbook we expect to mature as the zone's functions expand, and it is the axis of our own service offering around the Hub.
Where to go next 继续阅读
Entry guide: invitations, documents, stay
Who can invite, what to prepare, how long you can stay, and the caveats that keep a delegation out of trouble.
Sector opportunities in and around the zone
Exhibitions, training, services trade and health cooperation — the officially signalled directions, read commercially.
How Delta Law helps around the Hub
From zone-based negotiations to onshore landing: the legal work we do at each step, stated plainly.
- State Council approval of the Master Plan for the Shanghai Oriental Hub International Business Cooperation Zone (February 2024) 国务院批复《上海东方枢纽国际商务合作区建设总体方案》（2024年2月）—— the founding instrument defining the zone's purpose and boundaries; supports 合作区是什么 and 合作区不是什么.
- Announcements and releases of the Shanghai Municipal Government and Shanghai Customs on the launch area's acceptance (November 2025) and trial operation (December 2025) 上海市人民政府、上海海关相关发布 —— the build-out and operating status described on this page; supports 合作区是什么 and 对外企的意义.
- Shanghai Customs releases on early entries into the zone 上海海关相关发布 —— the source of the early entry statistics cited on this page.
Validity note 效力提示：Figures and procedures reflect public official information at the review date and are subject to the zone's latest official announcements 具体以合作区最新公告为准。
This page is general legal information, not legal advice on any specific matter. 本页为一般性法律信息，不构成对具体个案的法律意见。
