The "Waishitong" section, jointly promoted by the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Wuhan Municipal Committee and the commerce and foreign affairs bureau of the Wuhan East Lake High-tech Development Zone (Optics Valley of China, or OVC), was launched on the Wuhan International Trade Digital Platform on July 10.

The launch ceremony for the "Waishitong" section. [Photo/WeChat account of Wuhan Waishi]

The new section allows foreign trade companies to conveniently handle high-frequency tasks such as inviting foreigners to China and applying for APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Business Travel Cards, offering a streamlined model with one-time applications, fully online processing, and no need for in-person visits.

Using the big data of the Wuhan International Trade Digital Platform, companies can also receive a precise profile of their foreign trade operations.

In recent years, Wuhan has consistently led Hubei province in the total number of invitations extended to foreign talent in economic, technological, and trade sectors, as well as applications for APEC Business Travel Cards. In the first half of 2025 alone, APEC Business Travel Card applications accounted for 57.4 percent of the total applications in the province.

The APEC Business Travel Card is a multilateral visa facilitation arrangement that promotes business interactions in the Asia-Pacific region. It allows Chinese cardholders to freely travel between 16 APEC economies within a 5-year validity period.

Zhang Xi, manager of the international business department at Huagong Tech Company, pointed out that whether a company's executives possess APEC Business Travel Cards has also become an important indicator of the company's strength and internationalization level.